In Darkness
by halfdemon-kai
Summary: A girl without a past is chased by Saïx of Organization XIII. When being told by Axel to defeat Sora, she sets out not only to find him but to find her past as well. What happens when a silver haired boy comes into the picture?
1. Unknown Destination

Hello everyone. Alright this is my first Kingdom Hearts fanfic so please don't eat me if it doesn't sound alright. I was writing one of my own stories and then I thought, hey this would be a good thing to use in a Kingdom Hearts fanfic. Yay. : ) : ) I just hope that you all like it. : ) : ) Sorry for any spelling mistakes that I may have made which I most likely did. : ) : ) Please enjoy my first Kingdom Hearts fic. : ) : )

**In Darkness**

**Unknown Destination**

There was something after me, something white that seemed to move like the wind. It had a huge mouth with what looked like a zipper for a teeth but another set of teeth on the inside. _'What the heck is this thing?' _Running like nothing else mattered, I ran until I ran into what seemed to be a person.

"You can't keep running Demi. The Organization is after your powers," the guy laughed.

Looking up, I saw a guy with spiky red hair and bluish green eyes. He was smiling until his eyes looked at the white thing behind me.

"Who are you?"

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?" he asked as he pointed to his temple.

He pushed me to the side and walked to be in front of me. There was a weird sound from the left and it drew my attention. Another person came out of a black pathway wearing a black coat. There was a hood over their head so I couldn't see their face. _'This is just getting weird. First I wake up and don't remember anything, then that white thing chases after me, and now people are coming out of doors of darkness.' _

"Give in to the darkness Demi. Join the Organization and help up complete Kingdom Hearts so we may fully exist," the man in the black coat said, holding a hand out to me.

'_If we didn't exist then we wouldn't be here right now. What the heck is this guy talking about?' _Axel took hold of my arm and pulled me into a doorway of darkness, making the world disappear for a moment before we appeared in a place with a huge castle in a rock valley.

"Stay here until I come back. I don't want to have to chase all over the place for you again. Oh, and if a guy comes here with short blond hair, tell him he's slow," he said with a laugh as he let me go.

"Blond hair," I whispered, feeling a small pain in my stomach.

"His name's Demyx. Got it memorized? D E M, Y X," Axel mocked, spelling it out for me.

With that, Axel opened another door of darkness and walked into it. _'Well this sucks. I wonder why he told me to stay here. It's not like something can really hurt me.' _

My name is Demi from what those guys were calling me. I have short light blue hair that almost looks silver and dark blue eyes. I wear baggy navy pants that have red straps that cross in the front and back of my legs. The red straps wrap all the way around at my shins. My shirt is like a vest that's navy with a hood but doesn't have a zipper down the front. There are two red belt like straps at the sides that cross each other at the back of the shirt. There are two metal chain bracelets around my wrists that have something that looks like a key attached to them. As far as I remember, I'm a fifteen year old girl that ran away from somewhere. After that there was nothing. I had woken up and looked at strange surroundings before having this weird white thing chase me.

'_What was that thing? Who was that guy in the black coat? How do these guys know my name?' _The questions kept coming to mind as I thought about it. Looking over the cliff, I stared at the strange castle. It seemed to be old and abandoned. All around it was nothing but rocks and mountains. At the top of the castle there was a strange mark on it that kind of looked like a heart.

"Aw man, that was crazy," a young guy's voice came from behind me.

Turning around, I saw a blond haired guy with his back to me, staring at a pathway. _'I don't think this guy knows I'm here yet.' _

"Now to get back to business," he said to himself, turning around.

'_He's crazy. I think he's lost it.' _

"It's you!"

At his excitement I was surprised and jumped slightly.

"Are you Demyx?" I asked with a confused look.

"Why? Was Axel already here? Did he beat me again?"

"He said to say that you were slow," I replied, scratching my head.

'_Wow, he is crazy.' _

"Aw man, I told him he was sending the wrong guy," Demyx whined as he sat down.

I too sat down and crossed my arms with boredom. _'Why am I sitting around here? I should be going somewhere, finding out what happened before.' _

"What took you so long Demyx?" Axel asked as he came out of a door of darkness.

"The traitor found me. Roxas isn't there anymore," Demyx replied as he looked at Axel.

"Demi, go after a boy named Sora."

"Why should I listen to you? Why the heck am I even here?" I cried, rolling backwards onto my feet.

Taking a step backwards, I gave Axel an unsure look.

"You're here because Xemnas is after your ability to wield two Keyblades," Axel started.

"What's a Keyblade?" I whispered.

"Man you're slow. Those bracelets you're wearing, they're Keyblades," he explained, pointing at my wrists at the mention of the bracelets.

"Only you and that traitor can wield the Keyblade," Demyx finished as he got to his feet.

'_I still don't understand what a Keyblade is. Is it these key things on my bracelets?' _

"Who's Sora?" I asked, still confused.

"He's the Keyblade wielder. He's a boy about your age with brown spiky hair," Demyx said as he looked at Axel.

"Find Sora and defeat him. We'll keep the Organization off you trail," Axel explained, as he pointed towards a town on the other side of a mountain.

"That guy in the black coat, was he from the Organization?" I asked as my gaze fell onto the town.

"Wow, you **_ARE _**slow. That guy that told you to give into the darkness, Saix, he is after you. Demyx is part of it but…"

"It's fun and all, but they always send the wrong guy!" Demyx cut Axel off.

'_Find a boy named Sora and defeat him. It can't be all that hard to fight against him. Then again, I don't even know how to use a Keyblade.' _

"If you get into trouble, call one of us by shouting our name. If you see anyone in a black coat besides us, stay away from them," Axel said to me as he opened a door of darkness.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Demyx groaned as he walked to the doorway.

With that, the two of them left and I looked around. _'Sora… Why do I feel that I somehow know that name?' _Looking at my black shoes, I ran to the cliff and jumped onto the mountain side. I slid down the rock hill with a smile on my face until I reached the bottom and tripped. _'Well that was just perfect.' _I thought with a laugh.

"Let's see. Shall we go search that castle or go to the town?" I asked myself.

'_That castle doesn't look all the welcoming. Then again that town doesn't look too great either.' _My gaze fell onto this weird blue soldier thing that was heading towards the town.

"Alright, town it is. Those guys never said anything about little soldier guys," I laughed.

Running after the blue thing, I slowed my run to a fast tip toe right behind it. I closed my eyes for a moment and when I opened them, the soldier thing was gone.

"What the," I whispered with confusion.

"Were you trying to invade Hollow Bastian with more Heartless?" a man's voice said from behind me.

Upon turning, I saw a sword pointed at me and a brown haired man holding it.

"What's a Heartless?"

"Never mind. How could you be a threat if you don't even know what a Heartless is?" the guy laughed.

He was wearing a black jacket and black pants. There were chains on his pants and jacket, His eyes were blue and his hair was rather long.

"Exactly. So uh, who are you?" I laughed, crossing my arms.

"Leon. If you're going to town then you were better off taking the way from the Dark Depths," he said as he turned around to walk away.

'_Maybe he knows something about Sora…' _

"Hey, do you know a boy named Sora?"

"You a friend of his?" Leon asked, about to walk away.

"I'm just looking for him," I replied.

"He left this world not too long ago to search for his friend Riku," he explained before walking away towards the town.

'_Well that sucks. How the heck am I supposed to leave this place? It's not like there are a whole bunch of roads to take to another place.' _Sitting down, I sighed with annoyance.

"I need to remember something. Maybe if I go look for this Riku person, then I'll be able to find Sora at some point. It only makes the journey a little more difficult," I pondered to myself.

'_Stupid lousy no good guy I don't know. How can my luck be that horrible as to miss him right a way too?' _

"Giving up already?" Demyx laughed from somewhere.

The strange sound that I heard before came from in front of me and then the door of darkness appeared.

"I'll meet you in the Underworld. If I'm right then that's where Sora is going next," he said almost happily.

"Sounds good to me," I whispered, getting to me feet and walking into the darkness.

At first things were dark and then strange surroundings appeared. It gave me a dead feeling in the pit of my stomach and it made me feel weak. _'Is this the Underworld?' _

"What are you doing here? You're not dead!" a rather annoying voice said from ahead of me.

I looked down and saw a fat red demon thing with hair and a tail.

"Looking for someone," I replied, kneeling down in front of the red thing.

"If they're dead then good luck. As you can tell, this is the Underworld and it is filled with dead people."

My eyes wandered around at the surroundings and saw that there were three rock platforms between two doorways above a green lake of something. A small trail led to each platform.

"I'm pretty sure he's not dead. If this is the Underworld, the who rules over it?" I asked curiously.

"Hi I'm Hades, Lord of Dead. What can I do for you?" a voice said from a pile of smoke before forming a blue guy with fire for hair.

"I'm looking for someone," I replied, standing up straight.

"Ah, ah, ah, name first and then tell me who you're looking for," Hades scolded.

"Demi. I'm looking for a boy named Sora."

"Keyblade boy… Now why would a fine young girl like you be looking for him?"

"Why should I answer? You obviously know who he is, so can you tell me where he is?" I asked with annoyance.

'_Why should I answer every question someone asks me? I think it's time I got some answers for once.' _

"I don't know were the brat goes when he's not here," Hades replied plainly, "You, a Heartless, should be able to find him on your own."

'_Heartless! I'm not a Heartless!' _

"Go back to watching the dead," I grumbled, walking away towards the lower door.

"Excuse me! Did you just tell **_ME _**what to do!" Hades shouted with anger.

"No, I suggested it."

Walking through the door, I came to a place that had a river flowing beside the walkway. The strange sound was heard again and Demyx appeared from the wall.

"As a Nobody, you should really consider learning how to use the darkness," he laughed at me.

"A Nobody? But I was just called a Heartless!"

"Weird. Come on, we have to get to the Lock!" Demyx cried as he ran up to me and grabbed my arm.

He pulled me to the door of darkness that was still there and we arrived at another part of the Underworld with a huge door blocking the way in. Black orbs appeared from a few places in the area and ghosts with candles appeared. _'Hey, those things have that same symbol as the castle in Hollow Bastian. It looks like a broken up black heart.' _

"You only brought me here to fight, didn't you?" I asked with a suspicious glare.

Demyx started to laugh nervously.

"I told them they were sending the wrong guy," he said too innocently to believe.

"I don't even know how to use these Keyblade things let alone fight. And what do you mean _'they'_?"

"The Organization sent me here. I'm still part of it you know," he replied as he lifted his left hand into the air.

Water started to gather in an orb and it formed into a weird guitar.

"Believe you can wield them," Demyx said with a smile on his face.

'_Believe I can wield them… I do believe that I can, I just don't know how to make them appear…' _With the though, the two bracelets started to glow and two keys formed in my hands. One was black with what looked like a gate at the end, and the other was red with the same design. On the bottom under the handles hung two feathers from a small chain on both.

"This I could get used to," I whispered with a smirk.

"Dance water dance!" Demyx cried as he started to play his guitar.

Water illusions of him self started to appear and I ran straight at a ghost. Swinging both Keyblades swiftly at each enemy that crossed my path, I watched as small hearts descended to the air. _'That' weird.' _I watched as Demyx kept playing and his illusions turned into guitars, attacking the ghosts. My breathing started to become heavy and my body started to become weaker. _'This can't be good.' _

"Here!"

Demyx threw a medallion to me with a cloud and a lightning bolt on it. I put the red Keyblade in my right hand and caught it. I watched as a light surrounded me and my strength returned.

"Water!" Demyx cried, putting his hand up.

Large bubbles formed and started to fall upon the remaining ghosts. When all of them were gone, no more appeared and Demyx dropped his guitar only for it to turn back into water. Both Keyblades turned to nothing in my hands and I ran to Demyx's side to see if he was alright.

"Sora should be coming soon. After al, he needs that thing to have strength here. Man, were they ever sending the wrong guy. At least you're lively," he laughed with a smile.

I didn't notice that Demyx had long strands of hair in a few places on his forehead until I got a closer look at him.

I had to admit that I liked Demyx and Axel. Even though I didn't know who they were, I still felt like I could trust them.

"I admit it was fun, but it's not fun if you're not alright. What do you have to do here anyway?" I asked, giving him a confused look.

'_I thought he was keeping the Organization away.' _

"Aw, they want me to fight the traitor and bring Roxas back," Demyx groaned with annoyance.

"Who's Roxas?"

"A traitor to the Organization. He left and then Sora came back. Roxas was a Nobody, like us." He explained.

'_Nobody… What's a Nobody?' _

"Darn it, someone else is here from the Organization. Go through those doors and call for Axel," Demyx said as pointed to the large doors behind him.

"Thank you Demyx," I whispered, giving him a small hug before running through the doors.

'_I shouldn't just leave him there, but what else can I do? They're keeping those white things away from me and all I have to do is beat Sora.' _

"Axel! Can you help me Axel?" I cried, looking around the room I was in.

There was a strange lock in front of a white orb thing in the center of the room and burning torches all the way around. The strange sound of the darkness was heard behind me and I turned with a smile of appreciation.

"Why are you smiling Demi?"

'_That's not Axel.' _I thought when I saw a guy with a hood over his head and a black coat. I slowly backed away when I realized that it was the same guy as before.

"If I restore your memories, will you give into the darkness? Will you join the Organization," he asked, once again holding a hand out to me.

"I do want to remember… but not if someone just tells me something so I'll become some team member. You can eat me Saix!" I yelled at him.

Saix started to laugh and then pulled down his hood to show his face, He had long light blue hair that showed his pointed ears that were pierced. His golden eyes were cold but they still seemed to have some emotion left in them.

"So you do remember my name. Do you remember anything else than that?" Saix asked as he smirked.

"Axel told me your name, I didn't remember it. Besides, why would I want to remember someone who keeps sending creepy white things after me?" I asked, summoning the two Keyblades.

"Still trying to hurt people with your words. If I had a heart, this would be where it died of laughter. A Nobody doesn't have a heart. Which means you don't either," he mocked me, daring to take a step closer to me.

"Axel!" I cried again, becoming worried.

'_I don't like Saix. Axel should have been here by now, He said that if I called for him then he would come save me.' _

"You should not put your faith in that renegade. Once he's caught, he will receive maximum punishment," Saix said as he once again came closer.

"Guess I'm a little late," Axel said as he took hold of my arm.

"Do you really desire to be used for the purpose of bringing back a traitor? Or would you rather complete Kingdom Hearts and truly exist?" Saix asked before darkness covered everything.

My heart was pounding because I was afraid that Axel wouldn't have come to save me. I knew that Demyx was busy and that he couldn't come to save me without losing his trust with the Organization. A new world appeared from behind the darkness and I pretty much stuck myself to Axel. My arms were wrapped around his sides ad my face was buried in his coat because I was crying.

Axel was confused but didn't try to push me away from him.

"What are you doing?" he asked as if I was crazy.

"Freaking out! You didn't come right a way and Demyx was busy. Saix… He really scares me," I cried, feeling like crying.

"I'm… sorry. He was chasing after me, but I guess he gave up when he found you in the Underworld. I guess you can't really take that to heart, neither of us has one," Axel said quietly, laughing at the heart part.

'_If there wasn't a heart there, then why does it hurt right now?' _I let Axel go and then blushed slightly at my selfishness.

"I'm sorry for that," I laughed nervously.

The Keyblades had vanished once again and it was the new world that had drawn my attention. It seemed like it was almost sunset and we were in a back alley. There was a fence with an open door and tunnel that seemed to be closed at the moment.

"Where are we now?" I asked, looking at the tunnel intently.

"Twilight Town. You should be safe here for a while until someone from the Organization discovers this place too. Sora will come here at some point," Axel explained as he too looked around.

"What's a Nobody?" I asked out of nowhere.

"A person turned into a Heartless. A person with a strong will, will become both a Heartless and a Nobody. A Nobody is without a heart and is the brink of nothingness."

'_If I am a Nobody, then why did Hades call me a Heartless?' _

"Do you think you're strong enough to defeat come Dusks if they come around?" Axel wondered with a small smile.

"If I can take care of those ghost things then I think I can handle some Nobodies," I laughed proudly.

Axel turned to the alley wall and opened a door of darkness.

"I guess you're not as slow as I thought," he said before disappearing in the darkness.

'_Great, now I feel stupid for crying on him like that. Why the heck was I so scared of Saix? He looks cool and all but he just creeps me out a lot.' _I walked to the stairs that led somewhere else in the town and looked around. There was a large square with benches all around it and three pathways to take.

"Well if it isn't a new lamer in town," a guy's voice said from the left.

"Seifer will teach you, y'know."

"Torment," a girl said after.

'_Seifer… What?' _I looked at who was talking and saw a blond haired guy wearing a black hat. He had a white jacket on that was really long.

"Yeah, I think I can teach you who the best is in my town. Do you think a lamer like you can beat me?" the guy in the hat said with a smirk.

"I don't fight blonds," I replied plainly, about to walk away.

"You can't diss Seifer like that y'know!"

"Embarrassment!"

"I trust that you are the best at whatever. I just don't feel like fighting you because my friend is blond," I laughed, shrugging before walking away.

'_He was cool. Why is it that all the new people I meet are guys? That's just weird. Then again, if they were mostly princesses, I'd probably freak out…' _

With a new curiosity on what else would be in Twilight Town, I went up another hill and saw a few shops. There was a girl with a ball standing beside another hill.

"Is this place all hills?" I whispered to myself.

I walked up the hill to a train station and saw the sunset hanging over the town. _'Oh wow!' _I thought with a smile. Running to the edge of a balcony thing, I jumped onto the ledge and sat down. There was a small breeze and it blew my hair playfully. _'This is such a nice sunset. I don't think I've ever seen one so beautiful before. Then again, what do I remember?' _The sky was pink mixed with a warm orange near the sun and as the sky got further away, it became a dark blue. Everything was peaceful and seemed calm enough to feel right. I suddenly got a small chill and it caused me to look behind me. Someone was standing there, wearing the same black coat as Saix and staring straight at me.

"That didn't last very long," I whispered with disappointment.

The person didn't do or say anything, just stood there. _'Maybe he's not a threat to me.' _They fell onto their knees and then stomach for no reason.

"Are you alright?" I asked with some worry.

'_If he's with the Organization, then why should I care? Then again, what if he's not with them and is really hurt?' _The person didn't answer so I jumped off the ledge to him.

"If you're just faking then I'll fight you or something," I threatened, just to make sure.

I bent down at his side and pulled the hood off his head. Long silver hair showed itself and the guy was wearing a black blindfold. _'I guess he's not alright. It looks like he's asleep or unconscious.' _His mouth was open slightly so he could breathe which made his sleep seem peaceful. _'What's with the blindfold?' _I took hold of the black cloth and went to pull it from his face when his hand took hold of mine.

**End of Chapter 1**

Hello again. So how was it? I really, really hope that you all enjoyed it. I did try my hardest and I'm really sorry if it seemed kind of rushed in the beginning. : ) : ) Once again, please don't eat me and don't not like the story because of the beginning because I know it more or less stunk. Lol. Ah well, at least I tried right. : ) : ) Please R&R and wait for the next chapter. : ) : )


	2. A Scar for a Promise

Hello everyone. Okay so it took me a little while longer to update than I thought it would, but at least I got it done. : ) : ) I went camping again and I was really busy during the week so by the time I had the chance to update, I had to pack my clothes to go camping for a week. Well I wrote the next chapter up while I was camping and two other chapters for another story so expect a bunch of updating in the future. : ) : ) Thank you all who took the time to read my first Kingdom Hearts fanfic and I'm sorry if it's off. I'll have to go back and watch all my saved scenes again to make sure that I have everyone's character the right way. Lol. Thank you all to those who have both reviewed and read. : ) : ) It seriously does make me happy. Well, here's the next chapter so please enjoy. And sorry for any spelling mistakes. : ) : )

**A Scar for a Promise**

The boy seemed to be slightly awake as he pulled my hand down off the blindfold.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, not letting go of my hand.

The hold was gentle, as if he wasn't going to do anything. _'Should I answer him? Is he really awake?' _I was confused and didn't really even know what to say.

"Are you hurt?" I asked calmly.

"I'm fine, but what are you doing?" he asked again.

"Seeing if you're alright… Who are you?" I asked with curiosity.

Again he didn't answer and his hand released mine. _'I guess he really isn't alright. Maybe I should stay with him until he wakes up again.' _Once again taking hold of the blindfold, I pulled it off his eyes to see his face. The boy's eyes were closed and he was asleep again.

"You better not be with the Organization, because if you are then I'm gunna be really upset," I said almost to myself.

'_I feel like I know him. This guy, he makes me feel like I belong somewhere. Maybe Nobodies do have hearts after all and they just don't realize it.' _The sun fell behind the buildings and took with it the wonderful colours that had dominated the sky. When the stars had shown themselves at the loss of light, they covered the sky and lit it up to show that there wasn't only darkness. I found that the night sky was even more beautiful than the sunset. _'Every star has a destiny, a place in the sky. They will one day fade back into darkness when their light goes out. But I don't think that even a star would forget the power of light that it once held.' _I smiled when my eyes caught sight of the moon. It was a peaceful object. The moon made everything seem like everything would always be alright. It was the main light in all darkness.

I sat down and crossed my arms to wait for the boy's awakening.

"I wonder if he knows anything about Sora… I guess I'll just have to ask him after he wakes up. Ha, it would be funny if he was Sora," I laughed to myself.

"Kairi?" the boy whispered with some confusion.

'_Who's Kairi?' _

"Is that you Kairi?" he asked.

"Who's Kairi?"

His eyes were still closed but I knew that he was awake. The expression on his face changed and it didn't seem like he was dreaming.

"Who are you?" he wondered, about to get up.

"I'm Demi… Don't' push yourself if you're not alright," I replied, watching him intently.

"Demi… I know that name," he whispered as he changed to a sitting position.

When he opened his eyes, I was surprised by them. They looked sad with the colour of light blue. _'I don't know why, but I feel sorry for him. It's the same with Axel too…' _

"If you know my name, I should know yours," I said with a small smile.

The boy's eyes looked at my face and his eyes became solemn.

"Riku. Don't you remember?" he asked me.

'_Riku? I found him already, that's awesome!' _I thought with a happy smile.

"Do you know Sora?" I asked, not really hearing his question.

"Of course I know Sora, why?"

"I need to find him. That's all," I replied with a smile.

'_Didn't he ask if I remembered? Remembered what?' _

"I guess then you really don't remember," Riku said solemnly.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. Never mind," he replied, looking away from me.

"So, uh, can I follow you around for a while until I find Sora?"

"Why do you need to find Sora?" Riku asked me with a slightly angry tone.

There was something in his eyes that made me feel bad. It kind of looked like jealousy, but it was something else.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's not your fault. I'm just trying to stay away from Sora," Riku explained.

'_He's lying. He can't even look me in the eye right now. Then again, he wasn't exactly looking me in the eye anyway.' _

"I just figured that if he was looking for you, then it would be easier to find you and let him come to me. I can always just go with Axel and find him," I whispered.

"Maybe that would be best. I can't exactly bring you light since I gave into the darkness."

'_He gave into the darkness? What does he mean by that? I don't get it.' _I felt kind of sad and couldn't help it. There was a feeling in my chest that I didn't understand, and it was the same for Axel.

"Why are you hanging around with him? I never thought that I'd have the pleasure of meeting you, Riku," Axel laughed as he came from a door of darkness.

'_This can't be good. I have to separate these two.' _

"Do I know you?" Riku asked with some mockery.

"Come on Demi, I never though that you'd go to take care of someone you don't know. After al, in that black coat, he could have been part of the Organization," Axel said as he walked over to me.

I got to my feet and gave Riku and unsure look. _'He said he was avoiding Sora, which means that I won't be able to fight him any time soon. I want to remember, and that's the only reason I want to go after Sora.' _

"You're the one with the Organization. At least I know I have a heart, unlike you," Riku said coldly to Axel.

"Let's go Axel. You want me to find Sora right?" I said nervously, turning my attention to him.

I summoned the black Keyblade and turned towards the corner of the train station. Throwing the Keyblade, it stuck itself into the concrete of the wall and took a large chunk out.

"That's my promise that I'll come back here, Riku. Now let's see yours if you want us to meet again," I said quietly so Axel could barely hear.

Riku summoned his own Keyblade that had what looked like a wing at the end. It was red and black with the end being white. He too threw his into the wall, only it was vertical and beside mine.

"Let's go back to the alley. This place gets weird at night," Axel laughed as he took hold of my hand to pull me along.

'_Now we have to meet again and then I'll remember by them. I want to know why both Riku and Sora seem familiar.' _When Axel and I went to a different place other than the station, my Keyblade vanished, leaving a scar in the wall as a promise.

Axel led the way down the hill and turned to the right which had a small walkway. We were automatically at the same alleyway, only at the end with the tunnel.

"How do you know Riku?" I asked Axel, a little confused.

"I don't know him. I just know that he was the one Sora was looking for. Xemnas would know more about it," he explained, looking at me.

"Xemnas?"

"The leader of the Organization, Xemnas. Got it memorized?" he mocked me.

'_So he's the big guy of the Organization. Good to know that Saix isn't the leader, otherwise I'd probably die.' _I went over to the wall and sat down against it.

"Hey Axel, thanks for saving me earlier. I guess it would be better for you and Demyx if I just traveled on my own," I said quietly.

"Now why would you say something like that? We're the ones who want you to defeat Sora," he replied, sitting down beside me.

At Axel's words, I laughed for no reason. It was like it was the only way I could keep myself from whimpering like a baby would.

"Do you want to be the hero?" I laughed, "It doesn't seem to fit you."

"If it's the hero for you, then I don't mind. It's weird. Only Roxas made me feel like I had a heart, but you make me feel like I have more than that. I'm sure that you would make Demyx feel the same but maybe it's just because you're a Keyblade wielder," he said softly before laughing at the end.

"What do you mean makes you feel like you have a heart?" I asked with confusion.

'_Wait… If Nobodies don't have hearts, then how are we still alive?' _That thought gave me more investigation work and I felt stupid for it.

"Nobodies don't have one remember?"

"Never min," I laughed.

"Get some rest if you're tired. I won't go anywhere," Axel said with a small smile.

I gave Axel a small smile back and then closed my eyes. _'If I beat Sora, I wonder what will happen. Axel seems to think he knows the outcome, but how can he be sure of that?' _When I fell asleep, I had a strange dream, about being on an island.

"Come on you guys, let's go to the island!" my voice called to three people.

I couldn't see their faces, only their chins and down. All I could tell was that there were two boys and one girl.

"I don't think we should go there right now. It looks like it's going to rain," the girl said with worry.

"I agree with you Ka…" said the shorter boy.

"The waves get pretty bad out there in this weather. Maybe we should go to the cave," replied the taller boy.

"Alright, as long as we do something," I said quietly, looking towards the waterfall.

"R…, Demi, aren't you coming?" the girl called us from the entrance to a cave beside the waterfall.

"Come on Demi, we'll go together."

With that, the dream ended and I woke up with some confusion. _'That was weird. That boy who said we'll go together seemed so familiar, like I already knew him.' _

"So you're awake. I never saw you as the person to sleep in," Axel laughed.

"What do you mean sleep in? The sun is barely coming up!" I groaned as I pointed towards the sky.

"No need to get angry. I know that you haven't slept in a while since you were running all over the place yesterday," he said with a smile.

"There you guys are. I went all over the place to look for you!" Demyx whined as he appeared.

'_He looks tired. I wonder what happened to make him that way…' _I thought as I looked at his face.

"Xemnas sent me out to look for Demi while Saix is looking for you. Saix is coming and if he sees me here with you then I'll have to do something. Sora is coming too," Demyx explained with a worried tone.

'_That can't be good. Would we have to leave and then find Sora again later?' _

"Demyx, take Demi away from here. I'll stay here and keep them away," Axel ordered.

"What? No! You can't do that! No sacrifice will be made for me and I refuse to let it happen. It's either we all leave together or nothing… Well except Demyx since he still has a place in the Organization…"

"Do you really want to be stuck with Saix again? I thought you were afraid of him," Axel mocked me.

"People can't always be afraid of something. I'm not afraid of the darkness," I exclaimed with confidence. Axel though about it for a minute and then looked at Demyx.

"You better not get caught Demyx. You know what happened to the others for betraying the Organization."

"Yeah I know. At least we do still have hearts, unlike the traitor," Demyx said as he opened a door of darkness.

"I'm gunna want to see you again Demyx, maybe you can teach me how to use a water guitar," I laughed with a smile.

"That would be something I'm not the wrong guy for."

Demyx walked through the darkness and disappeared from Twilight Town. _'I really wouldn't mind using water. I think it would be really cool.' _

Axel made his weapons appear and I was amazed by how they looked. They were like small spiky wheels that were red and white. On the inside there were handles that went with the design of tem. _'That's so awesome!' _

"Here, hold out your hand," he said, putting his hand out.

I listened and he touched one of the keys on my bracelets. I watched as it turned red for a second.

"Now you can use fire while you're fighting. Don't use it too often until you get stronger, it'll drain your energy."

"Awesomeness!"

"Let's go to the train station. That's probably where Sora will come first," Axel said as he pointed to the back walkway we had used before.

Nodding my head, I grabbed Axel's sleeve and ran ahead of him. _'I'm not afraid of Saix. He's just a guy that likes to hurt people.' _

"Why didn't you just open a door of darkness Axel? Wouldn't it have been easier instead of running?" Saix said with amusement as he appeared on the hill to the station.

I froze at seeing him and Axel came to stand in front of me. _'I have to fight and I can't keep running away from everything forever.' _

"Fine then, Demi, come on," Axel laughed as he touched the ground with his hand.

'_We came here so we could run away? What was the point of that?' _

"I'm sorry Axel," I whispered when the door of darkness was opened.

'_I will not run away. Not this time.' _I took the chance to push Axel into the darkness and run to the station.

"What the," Axel cried as the door closed on him and he was transported to Hollow Bastian.

He looked around and sighed.

"Here I thought we could do this together. I should have known that she's more stubborn than Roxas. Maybe she's just a little more important," he whispered to himself as he looked at the castle.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I ran pass Saix and headed straight for the station. There was no way I was going to turn back now. Something white pooled in a spot on the ground in front of me and then one of those white things appeared.

"You didn't think you would get away did you?" Saix asked from behind me.

'_I'll fight for Axel and Demyx. I'll fight this guy for what they are doing for me. It's time I paid them back!' _I summoned my two Keyblades and turned to Saix with a small smirk on my face. My heart was pounding with some fear, but I wasn't going to show him that.

"Who said I was running away?" I mocked.

"Are you afraid of the darkness? Is that why you refuse to give into it?" he asked with a small smile.

"Yeah right, why would I be afraid of the darkness? I just don't want to turn into a Nobody like you!"

"You forget you are a Nobody. If you hate me, then take that out on the Heartless. Complete Kingdom Hearts so you too, may fully exist," Saix said as he snapped his fingers and made the Dusk disappear.

There were some fast footsteps behind me and before I could turn around to attack whatever it was, I was pulled into darkness. The last thing I saw was Saix with an upset face.

'_What the heck? Who is that?' _When another world appeared, I turned to see someone wearing a black coat and a hood over their head. _'Okay, if Saix is with the Organization and they all wear black coats like that, then why is this person pulling me away?' _

"I don't know who you are but…"

"We made a promise, so I came back to see if you were there. Don't tell me you forgot that too," a boy's voice said with a small laugh.

"R-Riku!" I said happily.

I went to pull the hood off his head, but he quickly turned around and grabbed my free hand.

"D… Don't. It's not right," he said with uncertainty.

Something didn't seem right. Riku was taller than the last time I had seen him and I was confused. _'He doesn't seem like he's okay. I feel like something's not right, like something's wrong.' _

"Riku, are you okay? Did something happen?" I asked with concern.

"Don't be stupid… Nothing happened. Just don't pull it down alright?" Riku said rather coldly, but the coldness wasn't directed at me.

"Alright, so where are we?"

"The Land of the Dragons. Someone in Organization XIII is here to attack the emperor and we have to stop them. Just because darkness id eternal doesn't mean that we have to make it eternal," Riku said as he looked around the mountainside.

There was snow everywhere and a huge mountain behind us. Below the ridge looked like a village covered with snow, but it was burned down. _'It doesn't look like a happy place… Is it okay to be here?' _

"Sora doesn't seem to be keeping to what those guys are telling you," Riku said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"He's here, coming to the mountain," he replied, pointing to the village.

'_How can he see him so clearly?' _

With a small smile on my face, I held my Keyblades tighter than I already was. _'Now's my chance to finally fight against Sora. Maybe then I'll be able to remember…' _Riku was quiet as he summoned his own Keyblade.

"I'll fight Sora, Demi. Hide behind something and don't come out until he's gone," he said rather sternly.

"Why do you want to fight Sora? I thought you were trying to stay away from him!" I asked, rather upset.

"To see if he's still following his heart. This doesn't mean that he has to know it's me, or know that you're still alright. You found me even though you don't remember, so now it's my turn to do something for you."

'_What does he mean something for me? I don't get it.' _

"No Riku, you don't have to fight Sora, I will. You probably don't feel well enough since last night!" I argued.

"My heart has decided and I will not go against it. Go hide Demi."

'_That's not fair if his heart has decided. I can't go against that, it would be cruel.' _With a sigh, I gave up and let my Keyblades disappear. Looking at the darkness of the hood, I wished I knew why he wouldn't let me see his face.

"Fine, I'll go hide. Just don't let him leave all right?" I asked as I looked away from him.

"I can't keep him here, but I will come back for you," Riku said as he let go of my other hand and rubbed my head.

'_Riku's hands are bigger too. His voice is still the same and he's as nice as he was, but why won't he let me see his face?' _

"I promise that we'll come together again," he said softly before turning to the ridge.

"Alright, but if I'm not there when you come back… I'm probably with Axel or Demyx," I replied quietly before running to a crevice in the rocks of the mountains.

'_I want to know what is wrong with Riku. I want to know why I get the same feeling when I'm with him and Axel. They make me feel like I have a heart.' _I thought as I sat down against the rocks of the mountains.

"Look, it's someone from Organization XIII! He has to be the spy that's been in the palace!" a boy shouted at Riku.

'_Is that Sora?' _I wondered with some interest. I looked around the rocks to see what was going on and saw a boy with his own Keyblade and brown spiky hair. With him was a white duck wearing a blue hat and outfit with a staff in his hand, and a dog kind of person with a big shield.

"Look Sora, someone else is here too!" the duck cried as he pointed towards me.

'_Aw crap. That's not good.' _Riku blocked the way from their sight to me with his hands out and his Keyblade ready. When I hid behind the rocks again, there was a time shift through the air and everyone was gone.

"Come on Riku, you can do it," I whispered with confidence.

The strange sound of a door of darkness being opened was heard and then someone blocked the way to my crevice. _'Who is that?' _Looking up, my heart started to pound with who I saw there.

"Did you think you could avoid the darkness, Demi?" Saix asked as he held a hand out to me.

"Why should I go with you? Someone with no heart would have no reason to want me to come with them," I replied coldly.

"You do want to remember don't you? Wouldn't existing being that dream to reality?" he asked again.

"If you didn't exist then you wouldn't be standing there."

"I can take you to Axel and allow you to see him before he fades back into darkness," Saix said with a small smile on his face.

With a small laugh, I took off a bracelet and threw it at his head only for him to catch it and look it over.

"Eat me!" I said coldly, getting to my feet.

The bracelet disappeared from Saix's hand and appeared back on my wrist. _'That's a little weird, but it doesn't matter. I think I will go with Saix, just to see what kind of game he's scheming. I don't know what I would do if Axel wasn't alright.' _

"Don't let the darkness overtake you!" Axel's voice shouted from behind Saix.

"Must you always interfere?" Saix asked coldly, looking back with just his eyes.

Someone grabbed Saix by his hood and then pinned him against the rock wall. _'That wasn't Axel.' _

"Demi!" Axel said as he came to the crevice.

I heard the sound of the darkness and then Axel pulled me out of the rocks. Looking over, I saw someone with a black hood on and figured that it was Riku.

"Thank you," I whispered before falling to my knees.

Riku was about to come over, but Axel was there first.

"Dem, are you alright?" he asked, bending down to me.

"I'm fine, it's nothing. It's nothing at all. I must seem like a total crybaby," I tried to laugh as tears fell down my face.

'_Why am I crying again? I must seem so foolish to them, both of them.' _Looking away from Axel's gaze, I stared at the snow as the tears slowly fell down my cheeks.

"Did he do something to her?" a voice asked from the person who I thought was Riku.

The voice was deeper and rather sad, like it was Riku only someone else as well. _'Where's Riku? I feel like he is Riku, I know it is but that's not Riku's voice.' _

"No, he didn't do anything, just leave me alone. Let me think for a little while," I whispered, closing my eyes.

"I will not leave you," both Axel and the guy said in unison.

Axel looked at the guy in the black coat suspiciously before standing up straight.

"You're not with the Organization, are you," he said more as a fact than question.

"Neither are you, at least, not anymore by the looks of things," the guy in the black coat replied almost coldly.

While the two were talking, I got a little light headed and collapsed onto my back.

I had a dream, back on the island with the three kids.

"Hey Riku, do you think that if I climb that rock wall beside the waterfall I can jump onto the ground beside the pond?" I asked with a smile.

"I doubt it Demi. You'll probably just hurt yourself," a boy with silver hair laughed with a smile.

"Demi, Riku. Sora and I have been looking for you. I thought we were supposed to go to the island today," the girl said happily.

"This is the island Kairi," I laughed.

"We were supposed to come together!"

"Let it go Kairi. At least we're here," Riku shrugged.

Kairi had red hair and blue eyes.

"Yeah, you're right. Sora can get here on his own," she laughed.

"Sora is already here. He's by the Obstacle Course."

"He knew you guys were here and he didn't come tell me? He's gunna pay for that!" Kairi said as she ran off to the other side of the island.

'_I love it here!' _I thought with a smile.

"Hey Riku, do you think we should go with her?" I laughed.

"Better not. You know how she gets when she's upset. We might as well just stay here all day," he replied, looking out into the ocean.

"What's that?" I wondered, pointing to something out in the water.

"I don't know," he replied with his own amount of curiosity.

It was black and had yellow glowing eyes. The strange thing looked like it was just sitting there, staring.

"_Everything will one day fade back into darkness. The heart is no different. All things will fade back into darkness!" _a voice said from somewhere.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what?"

**End of Chapter 2**

Hiya! So there was a little fluffiness between Riku and Demi, not to mention Axel and Demi. So yeah, I'll let you in on a secret if you haven't figured it out yet which I'm sure that you're all smart enough to figure out but I'll tell you anyway. This story is Demi and Riku as well as Demi and Axel. : ) : ) My first kind of love triangle… I think. Lol. I would have made her like Demyx too, but he doesn't seem like much of a boyfriend more than a friend. Lol. We all know that Demyx rocks, and so does Saix so sorry that I kind of make him seem like a really bad guy in here. I do like him so I don't want to make it sound like I'm dissing him at some point. Lol. : ) : ) Once again I apologize for spelling errors and other things like that. I will, one day, get around to fixing all of my spelling mistakes and what not so no worries! Thanks again for reading. : ) : ) Please R&R and I'll try to type up the next chapter as fast as I can. : ) : )


	3. Twin Void

Hello everyone. : ) : ) I'm updating before the first day of school which means, unfortunately, that I can't update as often as I was in the summer. _Cries with apology. _I really hope that you all can forgive me. Thank you all to those who have read and reviewed, it once again makes me really happy. : ) : ) I love to know that people enjoy what I write. : ) : ) Well instead of keeping you waiting for the chapter, here it is with apologies of spelling mistakes. : ) : )

**Twin Void**

Axel shook my body gently to see if I would wake up but was concerned when I didn't.

"I hope that darkness didn't overtake her," he whispered.

"She's too strong for that. Just to be able to wield the Twin Void proves that. Those Keyblades take a lot of energy to wield and she does it without noticing," the guy in the black coat explained, kneeling down on the other side of my unconscious body.

"Those Keyblades chose her, and she doesn't even know how," Axel said quietly, looking at the guy's face.

"R-Riku," I whispered, waking up slightly.

"Demi," Axel said with some worry.

'_That was really weird. It's never happened before.' _Sitting up, I rubbed my head with some confusion and looked around.

"My butt's cold," I whispered, seeing snow.

"What happened?"

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong. Let's just get out of here before Saix comes back. That was too close for me," I said quietly, putting my hand back in the snow.

'_On that island in the dream, that was Riku. And Sora was there too. Were we all friends at some point?' _

"You want me to find Sora right? So let's go find him. I know that things will only get harder from now on, but we can't be afraid of the darkness," I said with confidence, getting to my feet.

"Whatever you do, don't give into the darkness. A journey is hard and the darkness can seem inviting, but it won't make you feel like you belong. Only Nobodies and Heartless believe that it will help them," the guy in the black coat said as he opened a door of darkness.

'_He said that he had to help the emperor, but if that it Riku, then why is he leaving?' _

"What am I if I'm not a Nobody? Am I a Heartless or something else? What am I?" I whispered with frustration.

"You are yourself. Nothing can change the person you are unless you let that person fade into darkness," the guy said before he walked through the door.

Axel got to his feet and then looked at me with worry.

"Are you really okay? I mean you're crying again," he wondered with a small laugh.

Grabbing Axel's sleeve, I closed my eyes to let more tears fall. _'I feel stupid for always crying, but right now I can't help it.' _

"He said that you were going to fade back into darkness, that you were caught. I was worried and didn't want it to happen," I said quietly, not really wanting him to hear me.

"You were worried… about me?"

"Don't you get worried sometimes? Aren't you worried about things that could happen?" I asked, holding his sleeve tighter.

"When you pushed me through to Hollow Bastian, I was worried about you since Saix isn't the nicest guy in Organization XIII. If you become like Roxas, then I would have to end up hurting you as well," Axel said quietly.

"Who's Roxas?"

"Sora's Nobody. I thought you had this memorized."

Letting go of Axel's sleeve, I laughed slightly and then turned to him with a smile. _'He has a way of changing to mood.' _

"I'm gunna look for Sora here okay? If you have anywhere you need to go, then you can come back here and look for me," I said with a smile as the wind blew my hair slightly.

"Don't use Twin Void so much unless it's to fight some Heartless or Nobodies. I can't tell you why, so just don't use it as much, alright? Anyway, I digress. I'll be at Twilight Town if you need me," Axel said as he rubbed my head with a small grin.

"Twin Void?"

"Your Keyblades, their part of the same whole. Twin Void, got it memorized?"

Axel opened a door of darkness and wet to walk through it.

"If you see Demyx, tell him I'm still waiting for those water guitar lessons," I laughed with a smile.

He laughed and then walked through the door. _'Riku said that he would have to stop the attack on the emperor. That would mean that he would be at a castle or something.' _

"If I find Riku, then I'll probably find Sora too," I said with a happy smile.

I ran down the snow hill to the walkway and came to a small cliff side. Once I stopped walking, a bunch of black orbs appeared and so did some yellow small flying Heartless. _'Here I thought this would be a clean sweep. Too bad, I think I'll just burn them down.' _I thought with a small smirk. Summoning my red Keyblade, I aimed at one of the Heartless.

"Fire!" I cried, shooting a fireball at the creature.

'_That's so cool!' _I thought with amusement. Summoning my other Keyblade, I ran at the Heartless and cut through them like they were nothing. _'I better keep moving, otherwise more might show up.' _I ran towards the other opening and came to a normal mountain trail.

"I hope there won't be a lot more Heartless to show up. At least they're not Nobodies," I whispered, looking around the mountain trail to see what was there.

Holding my Keyblades tightly in hand, I ran towards the path and found a ledge to jump on and cut through the pathway. _'It sure is a nice view if nothing else. But it would be better if Heartless wouldn't come to attack me all the time. Then again, I think they are attacking everyone.' _I was rather surprised when none of them appeared.

"Maybe someone attacked them already…"

There was some other movement on the rocks and I saw someone standing there in a black coat not too far ahead of me.

"Riku!" I called, immediately assuming that it was him.

"Who's he?" the guy laughed, pulling down his hood.

The guy had long black and grey hair in a ponytail and a scar across his face.

"Hey, you're that Keyblade wielder. Demi! Haha, Xemnas will have to appreciate me for this one," the guy laughed.

"No I'm not, who are you talking about?" I said with a smile, making my two Keyblades disappear behind me.

'_He seems easy enough to trick, but I'll have to have a suave attitude for this.' _

"Aren't you supposed to be doing something else anyway?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh you're right. I'll just have to deal with you alter," the guy said as he ran ahead while pulling up his hood.

'_Well that was actually kind of easy.' _For just the thought, two large black orbs appeared, followed by black Heartless with large spears that were like samurai on a horse.

"Guess I really spoke too soon," I laughed nervously, summoning my Keyblades once again.

Running at one of the large Heartless, I started to attack it with both Keyblades as fast as I could. Both of them swung their staffs in circles and knocked me back towards the rocks. My back hit the rock cliff and If ell to the ground with Twin Void stabbed into the ground. _'That wasn't very good. I guess that this would be the time for me to run away from a fight.' _My heart was pounding and I was getting rather worn out from all the fighting.

"Well, one more shot and then I'll run away," I laughed, getting to my feet.

I ran at the other Heartless and attacked it as fast as I could. When it went to stab its spear forward, I dodged and then shot a fireball at it. _'Axel was right, using fire does use a lot of energy!' _The Heartless vanished and only the one remained.

"All right, that's it. I'm so out of here," I said to myself, running past the large Heartless.

Coming out of the mountain trail, I came upon a burned down village and immediately felt sad. _'Who would have done else? I just hope that a lot of people weren't hurt.' _

Having a desperate urge to get out of the village, I ran to the other side to where the gate was and went down the pathway where a small opening appeared with a waterfall. _'I wonder why they have these cannons all over the place.' _

"Who are you?" a woman asked me sternly.

"What?" I said, coming out of my daze.

Looking towards a gateway that had an opening behind it, I saw four people standing there; a woman with short black hair, a duck, a boy, and a dog like person. _'That's Sora, the boy, but who are the other people?' _

"Look, she has a Keyblade!" the duck yelled.

"Two of them!" finished the dog.

"You were with that guy from the Organization… So you know who that guy was?" Sora asked me.

'_What do I do? If I fight then I can't fight them all. I only want to fight Sora.' _I let my Keyblades disappear and looked at them apologetically.

"Yeah, I think I know who he was, but I can't find him now anyway. I'm Demi, and I'm just looking for Sora," I said to them, pointing at Sora when I said his name.

Sora was a little confused when I told him my name.

"Do you know if that guy was Riku?" the duck asked with agitation.

"_I'm just trying to stay away from Sora…" _Riku's voice came into my head.

"Donald, you're supposed to be nice."

"Come on Goofy, if that guy wasn't Riku and is with the Organization, then that means that she is with them too," Donald argued.

"He wasn't the guy you call Riku. I don't even know a guy named Riku," I lied, trying to make Riku happy.

'_I just want to find Riku again. I know that there's something wrong with him and I don't like knowing that.' _

"Then you **_are _**with Organization XIII!" Donald accused.

"Give Demi a chance. She doesn't look like she's done anything wrong," the girl suggested.

"Demi, do you remember being on an island at some point in your life with two boys and a girl?" Sora asked, taking a step towards me.

"I had a dream about it once, but I don't remember anything about living on an island. I only came to find you because someone wants me to defeat you, and for him I would do almost anything. But right now, I want to find someone else," I explained, about to run towards the gateway.

"Save the fighting for later. The emperor needs our help!" the girl shouted, pointing towards the opening.

"Mulan's right, she doesn't want to fight anyway. Maybe she's not as bad as we think she is," Goofy said with a smile.

I ran pass them and went towards the castle to see if Riku was there.

"You won't be able to make it into that castle on your own!" Donald shouted at me with anger.

'_Riku, where are you? I know that that guy who was there when Sora came was him, but when I passed out, that didn't sound like him. I don't get it. What could have happened to him?' _Running past everything without a care whether it was a Heartless or just an object. I ran towards the castle doors and opened them.

"Come on Riku, you said that you had to save the emperor right?" I whispered, breathing heavily as I ran.

I came to a small room with doors on each side and then a large door at the end of the hallway.

"There is something coming to attack your castle," a voice said from beyond the doors.

'_It's Riku!' _I thought happily, hearing his voice. Opening the large doors at the end of the hall, I came to a large room with a man trying to get to his feet, a guy in a black coat with a hood, and an older man sitting in a chair in the middle of a room.

"And who might you be?" the older man asked.

'_He must be the emperor of the Land of Dragons. I guess that I better be respectful to him…' _

"I am Demi your Excellency. I did not mean to intrude."

"Demi," Riku whispered with some apologies.

"As for you, young man, I assure you that everything will be under control here," the emperor said with some confidence.

"Alright," Riku replied as he opened a door of darkness.

"You can't run away from me again!" I yelled at Riku, running after him as he walked towards the darkness.

'_I won't let him get away! There's no way that I'm gunna sit here and watch him walk away when he could be really hurt somehow!' _Riku had walked into the darkness before me and when I got to it, I went through and ended at the Dark Depths of Hollow Bastian. Upon coming out of the darkness, I saw another door just disappearing and knew that he had left.

"Okay, I really suck at this whole chasing after people thing. Maybe I should just sit here and when they come around, grab their foot and tie them to something," I sighed, being annoyed with myself.

"Who are you?" a cold guy's voice said from behind me.

Turning my head slowly, I saw a guy with really long silver hair and sword and one black wing on his right side. _'Now he's really gunna want to eat me…' _

"No one, I'm just getting out of your hair. Heh, I mean you don't really want a girl around to cramp your style," I laughed nervously, taking a step back.

"Do you know Cloud?" he asked me curiously.

"Who's Cloud? If you want me to find him then you're kind of out of luck because I really suck at finding people," I grumbled, looking at the castle.

"If you happen to come across him, tell him Sephiroth is looking for him. That would be enough for him to come here," the guy said as he turned and walked to the edge.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that in like two years. Now I'll just leave you alone before you decide to eat me," I said nervously, jumping onto the mountainside and riding the rocks down the hill.

'_Okay, that guy was freakier than Saix. I guess he must really be a bad person for that to happen.' _Jumping off the mountain to the ground this time, I landed on my feet and walked the way Leon had gone before.

"_You'd be better off to take the way from the Dark Depths."_

"Aw man, well that totally sucks. Stupid Sephiroth, you can kiss my butt anytime soon. I mean, who would want to fight against someone with a sword like that?" I talked to myself with annoyance, trying not to notice how tired I was. _'Okay so running and fighting don't go together very well. I'm so tired right now and I can't even find Riku to show for it. He must really be feeling bad or sad to have to just leave like that. I feel so bad for him and really want to make him happy. Axel seems kind of down about things too.' _

"So you decided to come back," a familiar voice laughed from behind me.

"Leon?" I wondered.

"Or did you even leave? I haven't seen you around this place for a while so it's hard to tell," Leon said as he walked to be beside me.

"Yeah I left, but chasing after Riku he lost me here," I whispered with some worry.

"Now you're looking for him too? That must be one popular guy. Anyway, since you seem to be lost around here, I'll lead you up to town," Leon said with a small smile as he walked in front of me.

"Thanks," I replied happily, following after him.

'_I think… It kind of sounded like an insult to me…' _

Leon took me to a secret stairway and it took us back to town.

"Alright, from here you should go talk to Merlin about getting out of here. And if you run into trouble that you can't get out of, come to the Bailey and I'll be around there," he explained, pointing to each thing as he said it.

'_I think I'll just fool around here for a while. I could use a break from all this running and fighting Heartless. I'm just glad that I haven't run into any more Dusks or Nobodies lately.' _

"Thanks Leon. I guess that meeting you first was really lucky," I laughed, walking towards some stairs to go down into town.

"See ya around kid," he said as he walked towards the Bailey.

"I'm off to see a wizard, one that I don't know," I laughed as I ran towards the stairs only to trip and fall down all of them.

'_Enough with the clumsiness already. Why is it whenever I go somewhere I always fall or something? Then again, maybe it's just here…' _Getting to my feet, I walked around the corner and had some Heartless appear right in front of me. There was a really big fat green round one with spikes and a few with spell books that floated around.

"Are you guys everywhere?" I asked as I summoned Twin Void.

Running at the large one, I swung both Keyblades at it before it could attack in any way. I continuously did air combo attacks by flipping over in the air and swinging my Keyblades as fast as I could. _'Riku, what am I to you and Axel? Am I nothing but a Nobody, or am I real person?' _

"Why don't you things disappear," I shouted, using an attack that made three orbs appear and destroy all of the Heartless. With my vision becoming blurry, I ran towards the house that Leon had pointed to. _'If I go in here, I'll be just like them…' _Opening the door as fast as I could, I walked inside, shut the door and leaned against it before passing out.

"Come on Riku. Let's go to the island together! I know Sora and Kairi really want to come all the time, but I like it better when it's just me and you. We have so much the same that it's more fun," I said in a dream on the island.

"Yeah, it is more fun," he said with a small smile.

"Are you alright Riku? You don't seem like you're okay lately," I wondered with worry.

"Ever since we saw that thing on the island, you've been wanting to go there more often. I know that it's our favorite place, but it's changing you Demi," Riku said back as we walked towards the small island.

"It's just… Don't you ever wonder what else is out there besides this place? I mean this is just an island surrounded by water. There's no way to get anywhere else unless you build a raft or something to ride across the ocean."

"You've never wondered that before Demi. The other day you got in a fight with Tidus over whether or not there were other worlds," he said with worry.

'_He's right, that black shadow thing had changed a lot of things with me. I just want to know where it came from.'_

"_Give into the darkness and let it consume your heart. Only then will your heart be like the rest," _a voice came from nowhere.

"Hey Riku, let's go to the cave instead or the Obstacle Course. The island doesn't seem all that welcoming anymore," I said as I tugged on his arm.

Waking up from my unconsciousness, I was welcomed by a girl staring down at my face.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"I'm the great ninja Yuffie! And that's Merlin and Cid!" the girl said happily.

'_She's too happy, too perky. I don't like it. Wait, she did say Merlin right?' _Sitting up, I looked around to see that I was on the floor of a book covered house. _'Someone likes to read…' _

"I'm Demi and Leon said that I should come here if I wanted to go somewhere else," I explained to clear some things up.

"So why did you really come here? You must have been extremely tired to just pass out like that. After all, one does only fall asleep when one is comfortable," Merlin said as he walked forward.

"I don't really know. I guess I just needed a place to regain my strength without some Heartless showing up," I said with a small blush.

'_I want to see Riku again, but I guess that he doesn't want to see me…' _

"I guess I'll just get out of your hair now," I said as I got to my feet, "Thank you for not throwing me outside."

"Aw, do you really have to go so soon?" Yuffie whined.

"I need to find someone. If you know someone called Sora, could you tell him that Demi will be with Riku?" I asked, looking at Merlin and Cid.

"Sure, we'll tell the kid that you're looking for him too. Hopefully that old wizard is gunna bring him here soon," Cid said as he pointed at Merlin.

'_Wizard? Merlin's a wizard!' _I had to smile at the thought. I wouldn't have minded to learn a few other attacks than fire, even though I was grateful to Axel. _'Maybe another time, when I'm stronger.' _

"Do you think that it would be alright if I came back some time to learn some magic?" I wondered.

"I'm not old! I'll show you who's old!" Merlin shouted as he pointed his wand at cid.

"You're gunna have to take that as a yes," Yuffie laughed with a smile.

"Thanks again!" I said as I walked out the door.

No Heartless appeared and I was rather surprised that none had. _'I guess I better get moving before any decide to show up.' _Running in the opposite direction of the Bailey, I headed toward an archway that led to higher ground and saw a bunch of ice.

"Would you like to buy some ice cream or maybe take a ride on my new contraption?" a funny sounding voice asked me.

"Uh, no thank you."

"Aye, I don't blame you for not wanting any ice cream. I haven't exactly perfected the way it tastes," the duck laughed.

I laughed slightly and then walked into the place more. _'Should I find that Cloud guy and tell him that Sephiroth is waiting for him at the Dark Depths? Or should I leave that to Sora?' _I looked around and then someone put their hand over my mouth and pulled me into a dark corner. _'This can't be good. Axel!' _I cried in my mind, trying to kick out of the person's hold.

"Stop squirming. There are Heartless out there," a guy's voice said softly into my ear.

'_Heartless… I'm really started to hate those things.' _I stopped squirming and was released from the guy's hold. Turning around, I saw a guy wearing all black with a big sword on his back and blond spiky hair. _'Wow, he looks so awesome! His eyes are sad though. I wonder why.' _

"I can handle Heartless, just not Nobodies. Those things really creep me out. So uh, who are you?" I asked with a small smile.

"I'm Cloud," he replied, kind of looking elsewhere.

"You know, if you're sad, you could always try to think on the light side of things."

"Is that what you do? Live off the light?" he asked me, letting his soft blue eyes look at me.

"If you want to make the darkness go away then yeah. If you want, I'll give you a hug to make you feel better," I suggested.

'_I hate seeing people sad, like Riku and Axel. At least Demyx always finds a way to be happy about something.' _Cloud gave me a funny look and then looked away.

"If it will make you feel better," he said quietly.

Walking a few steps, I wrapped my arms around him and laughed to myself. _'This is so weird. I don't even know the guy very well and I'm giving him a hug.' _Upon letting go, I tripped and fell backwards.

"Feel better now?" I laughed at my clumsiness.

Cloud reached down his hand with a small smile.

"Thank you."

"I'm Demi and I'm glad that I could help out," I said as I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet.

'_Should I tell him about Sephiroth?' _I wondered as the two of us walked out of where we were hiding.

"Do you know anyone by the name of Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as he looked around.

"Uh I think he's down by the Dark Depths. He was there when I saw him and he didn't look all that friendly," I laughed.

"Don't go near him again. He's a dangerous person," he said before walking away.

'_Be careful Cloud. You are a nice guy and just need someone to make you smile.' _When I went to walk away, someone grabbed my hood and everything was nothing but darkness.

**End of Chapter 3**

Hello again. : ) : ) Lol. I really, really hope that you all enjoyed that chapter because I worked hard on it. : ) : ) And I really hope that you'll all be glad to know that I'm doing the same for the next chapter and all my other fanfics. Lol. : ) : ) Sorry again for spelling mistakes that were made. : ) : ) It's my fault for not reading it all over again after it was typed. : ) : ) But no worries, I will get around to it eventually. Lol. Well, thank you all for reading and I hope that you will all review too. : ) : ) Please R&R and I'll try to update as soon as I can even with school going on… : ) : )


	4. Fallen Darkness

Hello everyone. Yes that's right I have finally finished this chapter. :D:D I'm so happy because I'm finally getting caught up on everything that needs to be updated. Well except Dreaming of the Past, but there's only like one more chapter of that, and Moonlight Shadow. But I guess I won't be able to update as often because I got a job and well, even though I don't start till like next week, it's still gunna be hard to update. Lol. So yeah, thanks to all of you that took the time to read this fanfic. It does seriously make me happy because this is my first Kingdom Hearts story. Lol. Well, enough stalling. Here's your long awaited chapter!

**Fallen Darkness**

The darkness surrounded everything and no light showed itself through the shadows. _'Where am I? What happened to me?' _Opening my eyes, I saw that I was in some sort of dungeon.

"Oh crap," I whispered, knowing that it had to do with Organization XIII.

A door opened and Saix came in with Demyx right behind him, hiding slightly.

"So you've caught her Demyx. How very interesting to hear that. Now if she gave into the darkness then we could finally exist when she completes Kingdom Hearts," Saix said with a small smirk.

'_Demyx was the one who brought me here? Did he do it because he had to or because he wasn't really on Axel's side?' _The thought was suspicious, but Demyx was too nice of a guy to do something like that.

"Why do you want me to complete Kingdom Hearts so badly when you've got a perfectly good Keyblade wielder going around already?" I asked, looking at Saix rather coldly.

"Sora cannot feel hatred like you. His heart is too pure, but your heart was already tainted with some darkness," he laughed slightly.

'_What is he talking about?' _

"I'm not afraid of the darkness Saix, but I won't give into it either. Who would want to become like you?" I mocked, looking at him with my back against the wall.

"I see. But if you wish to truly exist, then use your Keyblades to defeat the Heartless," Saix said before disappearing through the darkness.

When he was gone, only Demyx was left standing there. _'Demyx, are you trying to hide because you were never really with Axel? Or are you hiding because you feel regret to what you did?' _

Demyx walked up to the cell's bars and looked in with a slightly worried face.

"You're not mad, are you? Don't be mad," he said quietly and with apology.

"Did you do it because you were never really my friend?" I wondered, looking at him with a hurt expression.

"No. I mostly did it to save Axel from being caught, but now they've got you trapped in here," Demyx explained.

"Then I'm not mad. I'll just break my way out," I laughed as I got to my feet and summoned my Keyblades.

"Demi, take this and you'll be able to use water like I do. I'd like to take the time to teach you the water guitar, but it seems the Organization probably wouldn't like it that much," he laughed as he put his hand through the bar.

Running over to him, he touched my right bracelet and it turned a light blue for a second.

"Thanks Demyx. I'd hug you but there are bars here," I laughed.

"Alright, I'm out of here. I don't want to be the wrong guy again."

Demyx walked through the door and disappeared to somewhere else.

'_At least I know that he's a nice guy and that he wouldn't be a jerk. I'll just have to break through these bars and get out of here. I want to see Riku again. I want to see Axel again. If I have to give into the darkness, then I will!' _Pointing my red Keyblade at the bars, I used the power of fire on the steel bars. A small cloud of smoke covered the bars and I coughed slightly.

"Did it work?" I whispered, trying to see through the smoke.

When the smoke did finally clear, I sunk to my knees with disappointment. _'Darn it. I don't want to have to give into the darkness if I don't have to. I don't even know how to!' _I yelled at myself in my head.

"I have to keep trying until I can't anymore," I said as I got to my feet.

'_I need to do this if I want to make Riku and Axel happy. I just want to make them happy and to know why Riku isn't like he was.' _I shot another fireball at the bars and another to make a better hit. _'Try water.' _

"Water!" I cried, raising the black Keyblade.

A water ball collided with the steaming metal and splashed out onto the floor. I waited and the smoke slowly faded away. _'Did it work?' _The bars were still the same and my knees automatically buckled with both disappointment and the amount of energy that I used on fire.

"I just need to get out of here. I just want to see Riku again," I whispered, feeling tears wanting to form.

'_If the doors of darkness can lead to a way out of here then I'll give into the darkness. I don't want it to take over me or make me be evil. Please don't allow the darkness to take my light away.' _

_**Two years ago… **_

It had been a while since I had seen the dark creature in the ocean. I was mostly trying to not freak out on anyone, especially not Riku. _'I don't get what's wrong with me. Lately I've been getting upset and I don't want to. Maybe if I just disappeared then no one would have to listen to me be stupid all the time.' _

"Why are you here by yourself?" a familiar voice asked as it came up from behind me.

"You shouldn't always be so nice Sora. Even if you follow your heart, it doesn't always lead you in the right direction," I replied, looking out into the ocean.

"But it always beings me good fortune. You know Demi, Riku is worried about you. Kairi and I are worried too. I know that you think that there are other worlds out there, but you have no way of reaching them," Sora said with a small laugh.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm fine, I just need some time alone," I said quietly.

'_Riku, I'm sorry. I don't want you to worry about me.' _

"Alright, just don't forget that you have friends," he said before leaving to the main island.

"_All things are tied to the darkness. They will all fade back into the darkness whence it came. The heart is no different," _a voice said from almost nowhere.

"The darkness?" I whispered.

'_If I fade away with the darkness, then this will all go away. I'll disappear and they will forget everything but I will always remember the light I once had.' _I thought solemnly, watching the water move at it's own pace.

"At least the waves will always sound the same," I whispered, closing my eyes and passing out.

Riku had been on his way to the island when he saw the darkness swallow up my body.

"Demi!" he cried with worry only to find that nothing was there.

Waking up, I had heard voices all around me. _'Where am I?' _Opening my eyes, I looked around at where I was.

"So you're awake," a guy with red spiky hair said to me.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked with some fear.

A guy with long light blue hair steppe forward with a small smirk.

"This is Organization XIII. Will you join us?" he asked, holding out a hand.

'_Join them? I don't think so.' _I grunted and turned my head away from him.

"Why would I want to join you? I have nothing special to give back to you and I have no desire to exist," I said coldly.

"Axel, take her and train her with the power of darkness. You and Roxas should be able to handle her," the guy with the blue hair said as he looked at the guy with the red hair.

"Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard," he replied with a small shrug.

With that, the blue haired guy disappeared and Axel looked at me with some curiosity.

"My name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

"My name is Demi. Got that memorized?" I laughed with some mockery.

"Right, come on. We have to find Roxas so we can teach you how to use the darkness."

"I don't want to know how to use it. I only gave into the darkness so I could disappear," I whispered, avoiding his gaze.

Axel thought about something and then looked around the room to make sure that no one else was around. _'I don't want to make trouble for anyone. I don't want to be the cause of other people's worries or sadness.' _At that moment, a slight wind picked up and two things appeared in my hands,

"Twin Void," Axel whispered, rather surprised that the weapon would appear for nothing.

"What are these?"

"It's the Twin Void. Your heart must be split between the light and darkness and that's why the Keyblades chose you… I'll help you escape from here Demi, and then one day we will meet again. Us Nobodies always have to stick together," Axel said as he ruffled the hair on my head.

_**Present… **_

'_So that's what happened to me…That's the main thing anyway, even thought it's not what made me forget.' _Forcing myself to stand up once again, I remembered what that guy had told me.

"Don't give into the darkness. A journey may be hard and the darkness can seem inviting, but it won't make you feel like you belong," I whispered to myself for confidence.

'_Attacking the bars may not have worked, but maybe attacking the walls will.' _

"Demi, you're not gunna give up are you?" Riku's voice said like an echo.

"Riku… Where are you?" I asked, looking around the prison.

"Come on, walk through the darkness and we'll see each other again. I don't want you to fade away once again," he replied as a door of darkness appeared in the wall.

'_How did he know that I was here?' _I wondered, eyeing the door with suspicion.

"Prove that it's you, Riku. I'm not falling for traps or anything, so you better prove to me that it's you," I said sternly, not trusting what was happening.

Someone wearing a black coat came through the door and looked at me with the hood over their head.

"Always suspicious about things, aren't you?" the guy laughed.

"Riku, please pull down your hood and show me that it's really you!" I said, pointing my black Keyblade at him.

'_I want to know why he's so sad or depressed about something. It's really bothering me…' _

"I don't want you to see me like this. I couldn't…" he replied, turning his head to the left.

It felt like my heart was breaking because he wouldn't tell me what was wrong with him.

"You don't trust me, do you?" I asked, dropping my Keyblade back at my side.

"I'm sorry Demi," Riku said with apology.

'_Riku, what's wrong with you? Why do you seem so more depressed than before..?' _Making Twin Void disappear, I almost fell onto my knees with exhaustion. I was breathing heavily and could barely stand anymore.

"Hey Riku, back on the island… were you really worried about me? Or were you just trying to impress Kairi?" I asked with a small laugh.

He looked at me with some surprise.

"We'll go to Twilight Town and talk there."

"I want to know Riku. Why won't you tell me?" I asked, almost falling over.

'_He doesn't want to talk. I should have known…' _I laughed to myself before falling backwards. Someone grabbed my wrist and I closed both of my eyes since I was on the verge of falling asleep. _'Where's Axel when I need him?' _I laughed again.

"Demi, I did like Kairi, but there was someone above her, someone that was closer to me than she was," Riku said softly, pulling my weak form against him.

"Oh yeah," I whispered, falling asleep in his hold.

Riku laughed slightly before opening a door of darkness.

* * *

A day's time passed before I woke up in the back alleyway in Twilight Town where Axel had been with me before.

"He's gone again," I whispered with a laugh.

"So you're awake," Axel's voice came out of nowhere.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you fall asleep. You kind of have to wake back up," I said quietly.

"That kid you were talking to before, Riku, he left a message for you," he said solemnly as he sat down beside me.

I could only grunt and look the opposite direction of Axel.

"He said he wasn't trying to impress her, whatever that means," Axel laughed with a small shrug.

At those words, things seemed to be a bit brighter.

"I like it when you're like that," I laughed slightly.

Axel looked at me with a small grin.

"Like what?"

"Trying to make people laugh even though you're not as happy as you lead on," I said as I rested my head against his shoulder.

'_If only things were always this simple. To make a choice without any consequences to what could happen…' _Axel looked at me with some confusion and then rested his head against the wall.

"I hear you found Sora in the Land of Dragons," he said quietly, looking towards the left.

Wincing at the mention of Sora, I sighed and took hold of Axel's sleeve.

"I found him, nut I didn't fight him. I'm sorry," I whispered.

Axel noticed how tightly I was holding his sleeve, and then he jerked his sleeve out of my hold to replace it with his hand. I lifted my head with some confusion and he looked kind of sad.

"You don't have to defeat Sora if you don't want to. I realize now that Roxas won't come back, even if you defeated Sora," he said as he turned his head slightly to look at me.

"If it would make you happy, then I would gladly fight Sora," I said with a small smile.

"What would make me really happy… would be if you weren't able to be hurt anymore," Axel replied gently.

"I'm not getting hurt. I'm fine," I laughed with a smile.

"Then why is it every time I see you, you're either asleep or unconscious?" he asked, holding my hand somewhat tighter.

"I'm just worn out, I'm not hurt…"

'_I only got hurt once and that was that stupid Heartless!' _I thought with a small eye twitch. A few moments passed of silence and then Axel pulled me against him protectively.

"A scattered dream is like a far off memory. A far off memory is like a scattered dream," he whispered to me.

"You saved me from the Organization, didn't you?" I wondered, remembering getting away from Saix the first time.

"You remember…" Axel said with some surprise.

"Only a part of it. After you said you'd get me away, I don't remember anything after that," I said quietly.

Axel looked at me with kind eyes and then moved his hand to the right side of my cheek. It felt like my heart had stopped when he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Good, keep the darkness away from you. There is no place in it for someone like you," Axel said with a small laugh before getting to his feet.

'_Did he just kiss me on the forehead? Wait… Did Axel just kiss me?' _I thought to myself, trying to figure out if it really happened or not.

"Come on Demi, we'll go together. Even if I don't have a heart, you still make me feel like I have one. That's something that hasn't happened in a while," Axel laughed again, holding his hand out to me with a small smile.

"Yeah," I whispered, taking his hand with my own smile.

Everything seemed happy when Axel smiled because then I knew that he wasn't sad like Riku was. I knew that I still had to find Riku and try to make everything better for him, but Axel and Demyx seemed to want my company more.

"Where do you think you're going, you lamer?" Seifer's voice said cockily from the right.

"Yeah, you still need to fight Seifer, y'know!" the other guy said as he jumped forward.

"Payback!" the girl said without any emotion.

"Fu and Rai are right. You own me a match and I want to see just how good you really are," Seifer said with a smirk.

'_I thought I already told him that I didn't want to fight.' _Axel looked at me and then at Seifer.

"I already told you that I don't fight blonds, so leave me alone. I have no reason to want to fight you anyway," I said with a small shrug.

"You can't talk to Seifer like that, y'know!"

"Embarrassment!"

"Fine, if that's the way you want it. But one day, I do expect to fight you and when that happens, I hope that you think you're strong enough to defeat me," Seifer said before turning away to walk to the Sandlot.

Rai and Fu followed him without another word, leaving the argument at a rest for the moment. _'There, at least one problem is solved…' _

"That guy was weird, not that I can really say that, right?" Axel laughed.

Axel touched his hand to a wall and opened a door of darkness. Before we went inside the darkness, I held his hand a bit tighter.

"Hey Axel… Thanks for always being there with me," I said quietly with a smile on my face.

"Alright," he laughed slightly before leading me into the darkness.

'_I wonder where we're going this time. Maybe we'll be able to see Demyx.' _We came out at what looked like another part of Hollow Bastian that was between the town and what looked like a fissure. It was a good thing that we didn't come out right in the middle of the small area because Demyx and Saix were there, fighting. They were too preoccupied with fighting to notice that we had appeared there. _'Why are they fighting each other if they're on the same team?' _

"You will pat for your treachery!" Saix said coldly as he raised his blue, white, and yellow weapon that looked slightly like Demyx's guitar.

'_Demyx looks tired already. I can't let anything happen to him!' _I jerked my hand out of Axel's hold and summoned my Keyblades on instinct.

"Demi, what are you doing?" Axel asked me with some concern.

"Protecting a friend," I whispered, covering my eyes with my bangs and running to be in front of Demyx as Saix charged.

"Come on, stick to the beat!" Demyx laughed as he swung his guitar to create a wall of water almost directly in front of Saix.

All of a sudden Saix came forward to attack and Demyx stopped attacking. _'I will not let Demyx get hurt anymore!' _I swung both Keyblades at Saix and knocked him away in the opposite direction of Axel.

"Leave Demyx alone!" I demanded, holding both arms out with a Keyblade in each hand.

"Why are you so protective over a traitor like him?" Saix asked me, making his weapon disappear.

"Why not? Am I not a traitor as well? For giving into the darkness two years ago, and taking the side of the light now, does that not make me a traitor to you?"

My heart was pounding because I knew it was true. At least if it wasn't, it sure felt like it was.

"Demyx, grab her and let's go. There's no point in hanging around if the Organization knows about it," Axel said from the side.

"Are you still trying to use her just so you can see Roxas again? He is, of course, the only reason you too left Organization XII," Saix mused.

'_Wait… This feeling. Is Riku around? Is he here watching this?' _My eyes glanced around to see if he really was around and I saw a black hood sticking out behind a rock.

"He is not using me! You're such a jerk, you know that? You assume that everyone would do something the way you would do it!" I shouted with anger, becoming upset about the whole thing.

"Demi, let's get out of here," Axel said with worry.

"I'm not leaving. Someone's here that I have a score to settle with, so I'm not leaving. You and Demyx get out of here while you can. I can handle Saix," I replied with determination on getting rid of my fear of Saix.

Demyx walked up behind me after making his guitar disappear.

"You didn't have to stick up for me. No one had ever stuck up for me so that's why you don't have to," he said gently.

'_Is that part of his reason for giving into the darkness?' _I felt tears wanting to fall but I didn't let them, I wouldn't let them.

"Go with Axel and don't worry about me. I refuse to fade into the darkness when I'm weak," I said proudly, giving Saix a rather cold look.

"Don't let the darkness overtake you Demi. You don't want to end up a Nobody turned into a Dusk," Axel said before opening a door of darkness behind him.

"Thank you Demi."

Demyx ran into the darkness and with Axel, that both vanished from Hollow Bastian.

'_I refuse to lose against someone who's only cold hearted.' _I let both of my arms fall to my sides and Saix smirked at the action.

"Giving up the fight already Demi?" he asked.

"Why not? You're not gunna fight me anyway, right?" I mocked with my own smirk.

"Only if you wanted me to. The darkness is the path to take if you truly want to exist."

'_Maybe if I consider taking the darkness then Riku will come down from up there…' _

"If you or I didn't exist then we wouldn't be here right now. It's the same if we didn't have hearts. Without a heart, how could a person live?"

Saix laughed slightly, knowing that the words were slightly true.

"Is there someone that you're trying to draw out of hiding?"

"There's no one here but you and me so don't waste your breath."

'_And Riku. I know that that's him.' _Gripping my Keyblades tightly, I grunted and then took a step forward.

"Come on Saix, you know that you want to attack me with that weapon. You know you want to see if I'll give into the darkness when I'm weak," I said coldly, allowing my Keyblades to disappear.

"Such a charade would be meaningless," Saix said with a small shrug.

"Then life is meaningless. Attack me or I'll attack myself."

With a small smirk, Saix made his weapon appear and then came to attack me. Closing my eyes, I waited for some sort of attack to hit me, only to hear the sound of metal clash. _'What was that?' _I opened my eyes and saw a black coat with a hood over the head.

"Are you going to give up that easily? Would you do that twice so things would be better?" the man who had saved me with Axel said with some agitation.

"Who are you?" Saix grunted.

'_That voice… It sounds like that voice from two years ago, the one that was talking about how all hearts will fade back into darkness.' _I thought with some surprise, remembering the sound of his voice.

"Ansem…" I whispered, some how having the name come into my head.

The head turned slightly, looking at me at the sound of his name.

"So this is the Heartless to Xemnas," Saix mused to himself.

Ansem turned his Keyblade and pushed Saix back. _'If that's Ansem, then why does he have Riku's Keyblade?' _

"I will come for you later Demi. I'm afraid that something new has come up," Saix said as he opened a door of darkness and disappeared.

Once Saix was gone, I turned to walk away. _'I don't get it. None of this makes sense.' _

"Where are you going?" Ansem asked me.

"If it was you that was saving me all the time, then where's Riku?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"Haven't you noticed it yet?" he asked me.

'_What? Noticed what? Wait, his hood, he never let me pull it down.'_ Turning around, I looked at Ansem with some suspicion. He was facing me now. Taking a cautious step forward, I waited to see what would happen but nothing did, and then I slowly walked up to him.

"It's alright, you can pull it down now," he said gently, allowing Riku's voice to be heard.

_Now I'm really confused.' _Slowly lifting up my hands, I pulled the hood back with some worry.

"Riku?" I whispered.

The face that greeted me was not Riku's, but Ansem's. I seemed to know Ansem's face well, but it wasn't something I expected.

"Why didn't you let me know that it was you half the time? Why did you always have to disappear on me?" I asked with tears forming in my eyes.

"I couldn't let you see me like this. I gave into the darkness a year after you, only to find that you weren't in it. How could I let you see me like this when you had been able to see the real me?" Riku asked me with a solemn tone.

"I would have understood. I would have tried to understand what was going on, tried to make you feel better…" I said as tears fell down my face.

"Are you… Are you mad at me? For giving into the darkness?"

I wrapped both of my arms around his sides and buried my face into his chest. _'This… This is really Riku. I don't know what happened to make him take on Ansem's form, but I'm not gunna get left behind again!' _

**End of Chapter 4**

Hey again. I really hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. I did work hard on it. :D:D Because well, I did it while I was on a camping trip with my school. Lol. : ) : ) Well, the typing is driving my mom bonkers so I guess that I should finish off there. :D:D Thanks again everyone. And sorry for any spelling mistakes. : ) : ) Please R&R and I'll try to update soon. :D:D


	5. Only Half Normal

Hello everyone. I know it's been a long time since I updated, but I really do have a lot on my plate right now. Lol. If it's not one thing it's another, right? Lol. Well this is the newest chapter of my Kingdom Hearts fanfic. Lol. As you can see. : ) : ) Lol. I wrote the chapter for this story so that leaves two… No three complete ones to type up. Lol. One of which I can't post for about ten days. Lol. I have to wait for one of my friends to receive a letter before I can post it. Lol. Alright, well thank you all for your awesome reviews. : ) : ) I really do love them all. Please enjoy this chapter. : ) : ) Sorry for any mistakes I made.

**Only Half Normal**

Riku just stood there for a minute, thinking on what was going on. I held him a bit tighter, not wanting to be pushed away. _'I won't be left behind. He can't make me stop following him…' _When Riku's hands took hold of my shoulders, I winced with some worry.

"Please don't cry Demi. I didn't know that you could be such a sap sometimes," he tried to laugh.

"I'm not a sap," I whispered, "You just think I'm childish, don't you? That I'm like Sora?"

Riku wrapped his arms around my shoulders and held me protectively against him. Even though Riku still looked like Ansem, it was still Riku, right?

"You could never be like Sora. He may be my best friend, but I could never like him the way I like you," he whispered, resting his head against mine.

'_What? Does that mean Riku likes me?' _

"But from now on until I am no longer Ansem, you must keep from crying."

"I don't know if I can do that," I laughed, refraining from crying any more tears.

He laughed as well and then we both let go of each other. _'This is real. All of it is real and I'm happy about it, but what about Axel? I like Axel too and he kissed me on the forehead.' _

"Come on, we'll go to Sora together. Maybe we'll find him before the real battle begins. If we're lucky, we won't have to fight, like DiZ said."

"Who's DiZ?" I wondered, snapping out of thought.

"The real Ansem… Ansem the Wise. He helped me find you and Sora," Riku explained without a smile.

"I guess then he can't be that bed," I laughed again.

Riku placed a hand on my head and then ruffled my hair.

"That's what I like about you," Riku said softly.

"Huh?"

"I like how it's so easy to cheer you up when you were sad. I used to come to the island and see you sitting on the ledge, crying because something happened. All it took was to make you laugh and you were happy again," he explained before opening a door of darkness.

'_Was I really a crybaby then?' _I laughed at the thought.

"Demi, let's go," Riku said as he held out his hand.

Taking it, he led me through the darkness and we came out in some sort of an old large building. _'Where are we now?' _The room was mostly red with two staircases leading upstairs, one to a door on the left and the other to a door on the right. There was a window straight across from us but the glass was too murky to really see through. Right behind us, in the middle of the room, was a table with a glass case on top of it.

"Where are we?" I wondered, finding the place rather amazing.

"An old mansion in Twilight Town. It's hidden through a forest and behind a wall so no one really knows it's back here," Riku explained before leading me to the staircase to the right.

'_It looks so old… I wonder how long it's been here.' _Riku stopped walking for a moment and I was confused until I looked ahead of both of us. Standing right in front of the staircase, was a Dusk.

"But how?" I whispered with some fear.

'_Not the Nobodies Those things really creep me out. The way they move and fight is kind of creepy to me.' _Riku summoned his Keyblade and sliced it in half, making it disappear.

"They've been coming here for a while, before Sora woke up… But it doesn't matter. Come on," he said with a small smile.

He ran up the stairs ahead of me, and I followed close behind him, skipping every other step. _'Why are we here anyway? What's so important about it?' _Two more Dusks appeared, only this time they were behind Riku.

"Stupid things," I grumbled, summoning my Keyblades as they went to attack Riku.

I ran at both of them and swung Twin Void at them to keep them away from Riku.

"Back off, you stupid things!" I shouted as the three large orbs appeared again and destroyed the two Nobodies.

Breathing heavily, I almost fell onto my butt in exhaustion. _'I guess that I haven't really gotten all of my strength back yet… That attack really took a lot out of me.' _A hand was placed on my shoulder and I almost jumped with surprise.

"You don't have to fight anymore," Riku said softly.

"Why should I let you have all the fun?" I laughed as I turned towards him.

He just shook his head slightly before walking towards the door. _'He's so weird sometimes.' _With a proud smile, I followed after him to see where we were going. Riku opened the door and went towards the stairs. My eyes followed after him closely and then I just jumped down off the ledge.

It would have been a normal room, a normal library with a statue in the middle of a large bookshelf, if it hadn't been for the missing floor and stairs leading down. From about a meter away from the wall the floor went missing and became a metal room underneath. _'That's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen… Why didn't Riku just jump down instead of taking the stairs?' _I thought with a small laugh.

"What is it with you and jumping?" he asked me with a laugh.

"It's fun. Come on, you can't say that when you did the Obstacle Course with Sora that you didn't like jumping off of everything," I laughed, barely holding onto my Keyblades.

"I only used to do the Obstacle Course because it used to make you laugh when Sora lost."

"You know, you're obsessive right?" I said as I poked him slightly in the stomach with my Keyblade.

"Only over you," he replied calmly.

"Stalker!"

When Riku went to grab my shoulder, I jumped out of the way with a wide smirk on my face.

"Hey, come on. You know better than that, don't you?" Riku said as he tried to come after me again.

"I don't know, do I?" I laughed.

I ran around him and through the door that was leading to the way we were supposed to go. _'This is like old times. Maybe he'll see it as well, like when we used to play tag with everyone.' _When I was in the room, I turned around to face the door to see when Riku was coming and someone took hold of the back of my collar. _'What the…?' _

"I see that he brought you here," a man laughed slightly as he held tighter to my hood.

"Who are you? Let me go!" I demanded, kicking my feet furiously to get away.

Riku walked into the room and looked at the man with a small glare.

"Put her down DiZ," he said coldly.

"She seems just like Roxas, only more childish. It would be a shame if the Organization were to get a hold of her as well, now would it Riku?" DiZ laughed as he let me go to stand on my own feet.

'_I don't like this guy. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to trust…' _I turned to look at this so called DiZ and gave a slight glare. He was wearing mostly all red except the occasional spot where there was some black. His face was covered with a red cloth and straps to keep it in place. All but his left eye and mouth was covered.

"I have no intention on letting her get hurt," Riku said as he pulled up his hood, letting his face be covered with the shadow of it.

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you Demi, though I cannot say I've heard a lot about you," DiZ laughed again.

I made my Keyblades disappear and looked away.

"I can't say the same, but it's gunna stay that way."

I walked towards the wall beside the door and sat down. _'I don't like this guy. I would rather fight Saïx than be here right now.' _

"So why have you come here Riku? I thought you wanted to go after Organization XIII."

'_Wait… If this guy is Ansem the Wise, then who is the one Riku took form of?' _

"I want to end this without causing damage to Demi. I don't want to see her get hurt anymore," Riku replied.

"Uh, I have a question. How could Riku take on Ansem's form if you're really Ansem? Are you a Nobody or what?" I asked, pointing at DiZ.

"Xehanort…"

"The other half of Xemnas, his Heartless. It invaded my heart, but when I won, to use the darkness I had to be Ansem, the Heartless," Riku explained, looking at his hands.

'_How is that fair? Riku should have gotten the choice on which form he wanted to take…' _DiZ, the real Ansem, Ansem the Wise, took a step towards me and I gave him a cold look before taking a step back.

"Stay away from me. As long as I'm here, I'm gunna go look around. I'm sure you guys want to talk anyway," I said quietly, walking towards another door that led to a dark room.

"She's just like Roxas. What a surprise that you of all people would want to have her around. After all, Roxas was the one who defeated you once upon a time," DiZ said with a small smirk.

"She's not like Roxas. She's not as selfish as he was. I can only wonder what her other half is like," Riku said quietly, knowing something important.

"So she really is an _'Other'_. How interesting. I never expected them to exist, but it seems they are very real. Created like a Nobody, only separated from the Nobody," DiZ said quietly.

"She should be a Heartless, but she has all the emotions of a normal person, just like when she was on the island…" Riku said quietly as well.

"The Organization must have the Nobody in their grasp. How else would they even know she existed?" DiZ pondered.

"They must have found her when she gave into the darkness, think she was the Nobody and the Heartless take her as a Heartless. It must be hard for them to tell…" Riku said quietly.

"Riku, you know what to do," DiZ said before going to walk into the mansion.

"Where are you going to go?" Riku asked.

"To see an old friend I suppose," DiZ said before leaving.

Riku watched as the older man left and then looked towards the door that led to the dark room.

"I wonder where Demi went," he whispered to himself.

* * *

When I walked into the room, it was really dark and there was a blue and green coloured pattern on the floor. _'What is this place?' _I looked around the room seeing a door to the right and a multicoloured orb thing floating in a corner to the left.

"What is that?" I whispered curiously, walking up to it.

'_Maybe I could touch it and see what happens. I mean, what could hurt from touching something?' _Reaching out a hand, I touched the orb and then went through it to a place with the sign of Nobodies swirling around like in a spiral with two large orbs of the same colour and size, one at each end. _'What is this place?' _In the middle of the place was Sora, and someone laying flat on their back with red spiky hair. _'It couldn't be…' _

"You're… fading away," Sora said with worry.

"Well that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" Axel laughed, "Not that Nobodies actually **_have _**beings, right? Anyway, I digress. Go, find Kairi."

Axel stopped for a moment before continuing.

"Oh, almost forgot… Sorry for what I did to her."

"When we find her, you can tell her that yourself," Sora said after, still worried.

"Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one," Axel laughed weakly.

"Axel, what were you trying to do?" Sora wondered from a kneeling position beside the fading Axel.

"I wanted to see Roxas. He… was the only one I liked… He made me feel, like I had a heart. It's kind of funny… you make me feel… the same…"

Axel once again paused.

"Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go."

Axel formed a door of darkness before looking past Sora, seeing me watching with tears formed in my eyes. _'Is he dying? Is he fading back into darkness, like the Ansem Heartless told me two years ago?' _My heart pounded as a smile formed on his face before he faded away.

"Axel."

"He's gone," I whispered to myself, feeling the tears fall down my cheeks.

Sora left through the darkness and it faded back to nothing.

'_Axel's gone…He's not coming back and it's all my fault for not being there to help him with whatever happened…' _I fell to my knees and held my sides with pain flowing through my heart.

"Now who would have thought that this might happen? It seems like such a tragedy, but really it means nothing," a girl's voice said from the left.

I looked to the left and saw someone wearing the Organization coat. _'Could she be from the Organization as well?' _I wiped my tears away onto my arm and stood.

"What do you want here?" I asked coldly, pulling out my tough side.

"Come on Demi, don't you even remember an old part of you?" the girl laughed with amusement.

'_A part of me? What is she talking about? She does seem sort of familiar to me…' _

"What do you want from me?" I asked again.

"To exist, like you do. Unfortunately for me, you became an Other, not a Heartless like you should have been, while I became a Nobody," the girl said coldly, becoming unfeeling.

"What are you talking about? What is an Other?"

"Follow me Demi and you'll find out. If you don't want to know, then go back to your Riku and try to defeat Xemnas."

"Who the heck are you?"

The girl laughed slightly, reaching both hands up to her head.

"I am Rittix, your Nobody," she sad as she pulled the hood down to reveal what she looked like.

Long light purple hair appeared that had the same shape of the bangs in the front. Her eyes were the same colour of blue as mine, only they looked a lot colder. Around her neck was a necklace that had the Nobody sign attached to it.

"My Nobody?" I whispered with some confusion.

'_She does look a lot like me… But if she's a Nobody, then what does that make me?' _"That's right. Only instead of a Heartless being a created when you gave into the darkness, you became an Other. Though somehow we are still connected with each other," Rittix explained, looking at me with a smirk.

Everything she was saying was confusing to me, and I wanted to know all the answers.

"You're not making sense!" I yelled, agitated with all this.

With Axel being dead, I felt sad and mad at the same time. I knew it had to do with Organization XIII, I just didn't know what they had done to him.

"Your heart is half plunged in darkness and the other half is light. That is the reason why Twin Void chose you. I am part of your heart that is the darkness, which makes us connected. The Organization found you in the darkness, thinking you as the Nobody, and tried to teach you to use the darkness while I wandered around the true darkness. You do remember **_that,_** don't you?" Rittix asked me, smirking slightly.

'_That was when I saw Axel for the first time and he said he would help me escape…' _

"After you got away, I crossed paths with Saïx in the darkness, and he took me into the Organization. He wants us to become whole again, which I personally could care less about doing," she said with a small laugh before a door of darkness opened behind her.

I watched as Saïx walked out of the darkness with a smirk on his face. It was the only time he actually seemed kind to me.

"Well hello Demi, what an honor to see you again. It's such a shame that Sora was the one to do most of the work in completing Kingdom Hearts, but you can become part of our existence afterwards, since you are also not whole," Saïx said as he placed a hand on Rittix's shoulder.

Rittix smirked at the idea and gave me a cold glare.

"I think we should get rid of Riku, then she would be left her without him or Axel and would be forced to watch Sora's love with Kairi blossom."

'_This girl, she must really hate me for not becoming a Heartless… Or does she not like me because of something else?' _I wondered with an unsure look on my face.

"Come now Rittix, if you two are to become whole again, you should learn to get along," Saïx said as he pulled her towards the door of darkness.

"I have no desire to become part of her. I will become my own being, without Demi in it," Rittix said before shrugging off Saïx's hand and walking into the darkness.

Saïx looked at me and bowed slightly before walking into the darkness, disappearing from the strange place. _'What did I do to her? I've never met her, or even seen her before from what I remember… Could it be that I had done something and not remember it?' _I fell to my knees and let tears overflow from my eyes. Between Axel fading away and Rittix hating me for no real reason, I had to wonder how I could be so stupid and naïve all the time.

"I deserve to be the one who disappeared. Axel was such a nice guy… He didn't deserve it, and without Axel, Demyx doesn't have anyone to be around anymore…" I whispered, falling forward and holding myself up with my hands.

"You called?" Demyx said as he appeared out of nowhere.

I stopped for a second, hearing his voice and sat back onto my knees. _'This is all my fault. If I never gave into the darkness… If I had never met them then their life probably would have been fine…' _

"Come on Demi, no more crying. You know how Axel feels about that. He always feels really bad when he knows you're sad," Demyx said with a small smile.

"Axel… Axel's not around anymore… He faded back into darkness, right in front of me. He smiled before he faded away. How is that fair?" I whispered, feeling slightly worse.

Demyx placed his hands on my shoulders and then knelt down before pulling my into a hug with his arms going around the front of my neck.

"Everything will be alright Demi. You still have Riku, and I'll be there for you. Don't give up, you can't yet. Rittix needs to understand that existence would bring her regret, once she exists, she'll have a heart…" Demyx started to explain.

"I want her to have what she wants. Even though she hates me, even if it makes me sad, I only want for her to be happy," I whispered, leaning into his hug.

"I'll take you to Riku. He's the right person to make you feel better," he laughed, slightly pulling me to my feet.

"What about you? What are you going to do now that the Organization knows you're a traitor?" I asked, looking back at him.

"I'll go with you. If you think that's alright," Demyx said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me," I whispered, looking at him as he let me out of the hug.

'_I feel happier now, but Axel's gone, so I don't know when I'll truly be alright' _Demyx took hold of my hand and opened a door of darkness before pulling me though it. We came out at the mansion, in the library where the floor became like a techno room. _'I wonder if Riku left too…He does have a habit of just leaving like that…' _I wondered, feeling even more depressed.

"Come on Demi. Riku has to be around here, and if he's not then we'll keep looking until we find him," Demyx said with some excitement as he pulled me through the doorway to the laboratory.

I looked around the room and saw that no one was there. _'This is just great… Now Riku is gone too. I guess I just have really bad luck with this sort of thing.' _Demyx put his other hand under his chin to think as he looked around.

"Now where could he be?" he whispered to himself.

"Sora was probably near by, so he left," I whispered solemnly.

Footsteps were heard coming from the empty hallway and then a hooded figure appeared. _'This can't be good…' _I thought, about to take my hand back from Demyx to summon Twin Void.

"Demi, how did you end up with him?" Riku's voice asked me.

"R… Riku?" I wondered, feeling rather relieved.

"Yeah, who else would be here?" he laughed slightly.

"told you we'd find him, didn't I?" Demyx said as he turned to me with a smile.

I blushed slightly for no apparent reason and Demyx rubbed my head with the hand that had been holding mine.

"Yeah, thank you Demyx."

I looked at Riku and saw that I couldn't see his face because he was still wearing the hood. _'I wonder if Riku knows what an Other is…' _

"Riku… What's an Other?" I asked, looking away from him.

He looked towards the left and at the floor slightly.

"When a person gives into the darkness and they have a strong will, then a Heartless and Nobody are born," Demyx said quietly.

"If someone who wants to fade away, but doesn't really desire to disappear with the darkness, then an Other is born… But why would you want to disappear?" Riku asked me.

"I don't really know," I whispered.

"Anyway, let's go to The World that Never Was. Maybe we'll be able to find more answers there. Then we could really get this journey over with," Demyx suggested.

'_Maybe we'll find Axel there… I know it's wishful thinking, but I don't want to know he's really gone. I always want to have the hope that he might still be alive.' _

**End of Chapter 5**

Hey again. Lol. Thank you for reading this chapter, it really makes me happy. : ) : ) I really hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it good and if it's not then I'm sorry. I can only hope that the next chapter will be better then. : ) : ) Tank you for reading and hope that you will continue reading until I've finished with this story. : ) : ) Please R&R and I'll try to update as soon as possible. : ) : )


	6. The Lost Year

Hello everyone. :D:D Yes I'm updating! Woo hoo, let's party. :D:D Lol! I had an inspiration over the last few days. I started this chapter a while ago and was trying to get it started but I got caught up in other things. So last night while I was at the movies, my friend Jenn **_(ReiLei)_** said that I should update this story. So when I got home, I watched some anime and hopped on the computer and was up till 4:30 a.m. writing and finished it this morning. :D:D So I really, really, **REALLY** hope that you all enjoy this chapter, because I worked hard on it. :D Thank you to all who have reviewed this story. :D:D It really makes me happy. Please enjoy the chapter!

**The Lost Year **

Riku looked at Demyx with some worry. I didn't know what lay behind those words, but I wasn't afraid of what might be there. Whether it was full of Heartless or not, I didn't care, so long as I didn't have to go through it alone.

"No, I won't take Demi into danger like that," Riku stated plainly, not really leaving room for argument.

I looked at Demyx, but not with worry.

"I'll go. I can fight just as well as you can. I may not be able to fight exactly like you, but good enough. All three of us can go and…" I started quietly, only before my voice trailed off as I looked at Riku.

I couldn't see his expression but I was sure that if I did, he would be making a disapproving one. _'I'm not gunna give up just because Axel's gone. There's no way I'm giving up on what Axel did for me… Whether Riku agrees to let me go or not, I'm going without a doubt.' _I told myself as I watched Riku intently.

"No, you're not going. You'll get hurt again, just like every time you follow me somewhere," he said as he shook his head.

"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Demyx said as he stuck out his right hand with his index finger extended and shook it slightly.

"I'm not judging, I know," Riku said rather coldly to Demyx, "It's either she gets hurt physically or emotionally when she follows me. This would be a time where she doesn't follow me."

"How is that fair? You shouldn't decide for her!" Demyx protested.

"Then you stay with her, because I'm not letting her get hurt again!"

I listened to them both argue. It looked like Riku was winning, just by the tone of his voice. I finally decided that it was time to interfere.

"Riku, whether you leave me alone or not, I'm not going to stay anywhere for long without you there. I refuse to be left away from you again, because now I know I'll end up being left alone," I said solemnly, taking my hand back from Demyx.

'_This is so stupid. Great time to act selfish Demi! I'm sure you're making Riku feel so much better about this!' _Taking in the scolding I gave myself, I looked away from Riku. I knew that if he left something bad would happen, because it always did. Like the time in the Land of Dragons, I ended up running into Sephiroth, but I also got to meet Cloud. Riku never said anything, leaving me to think that I'd hurt him. Demyx didn't say anything either.

"Look, just know that if you leave me here, even if I'm with Demyx, I'm going to follow you."

There was a moment's pause before it actually looked like Riku was looking at me.

"… Fine, we'll go there together, all three of us. And Demi, if anything bad happens to you, I'll try to protect you," he said before glancing at Demyx and turning towards the room that had led to the place where Axel faded back into the darkness.

With a smile, I grabbed Demyx's sleeve and pulled him along as I walked after Riku.

"No need to get pushy," Demyx laughed at me, actually putting effort into following me.

"You're not gunna disappear on me too are you? 'Cause if you are, then I'll be forced to hold your arm the whole time we're there to make sure you don't," I said with some mockery.

"I don't really plan on fading into darkness anyway," he laughed, "I'm sure Axel didn't either. He had more plans than to just do that."

I didn't know why, but that sentence seemed to have more than one meaning to it. There was a possibility that Axel could be alive _somewhere_, wasn't there? _'Just don't think about it. Think about it later when you have the time to not be a baby.' _I scolded myself silently.

"Well that's good to hear," I replied quietly, letting go of his hand.

I watched as Riku led us to the room where the orb waited in the corner. I didn't know why, but it looked like there was a different aura around it somehow. Like it was a bit darker than the last time I'd seen and gone through it. _'Is The World that Never Was really that dark of a place?' _The thought was really a wonder as the hood of Riku's coat looked back at me.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, we can do this," I said with a small smile, taking his hand.

"What about you? Are you ready to face the true darkness?" Riku asked as he looked at Demyx.

Demyx laughed slightly with his pure smile on his face.

"I'm ready to skip to the beat."

"Then let's go."

Riku was the first to step forward and I immediately followed, holding tightly to his hand to make sure he couldn't leave me behind. Being left behind and alone was definitely something I was sick of happening.

As we walked into the coloured orb, Riku's hand started to disappear from mine. _'What the…' _Shock and confusion were the only things that came to me by this event. After all, I had been able to go through before and end up in that place with Sora. But this was different, not even close to the place where I had seen Axel fade back into darkness. No, this was definitely not the same place. This was complete darkness, a place where I was left alone, without Riku, Demyx, or Axel to find me. There was nothing but darkness.

"Riku," I whispered, wondering if the lights had only gone out and his hand was pulled from mine.

When there was no reply, I dropped my hands to my sides in defeat. _'I'm alone in the darkness. Riku and Demyx are in a place where I can't reach… Is this punishment for Rittix being banished to the darkness and me being set free?' _The surroundings began to change to a different place, a place where I had never been before. I was in a crow's nest of a ship, a ship sailing at sea. _'What's going on? Where am I right now?' _

"Riku!" a familiar voice shouted from below me.

'_Is that Sora?' _Going to the edge of the crow's nest, I looked down and saw a young Sora run out onto the deck.

"I've been so worried about you Riku!" he shouted to someone right below the crow's nest. .

'_Riku?' _I immediately looked down as far as I could to see if what Sora was saying was true, to see if Riku really was there.

"Instead of worrying about me, you should have been worried… about her," Riku's voice said after, moving out of the way of someone behind him.

There sat Kairi, though she barely looked like she was alive. Her head was slumped, almost as if she were sleeping, even though I knew she was fully awake but maybe not fully aware of everything around her. _'That's Riku, but he looks a little older than when he was on the island, but younger than he does now… Is this the past? Is this some of the things that happened while I was gone for the last year?' _I wondered to myself, watched as Sora's face changed.

"Kairi!" he shouted with relief.

Things went silent as the darkness started to come back and then the scenery changed again. I was in a castle of sorts, with four people standing around a round table, talking to each other. One was a woman dressed in black with a weird black hood on her head. Hades was there with a look of some amusement on his face, and a pirate with a hook for a hand. Things went silent as Riku walked into the room.

"When can I see her?" he asked.

"Don't worry, she's on the ship. All you have to do is go to her," the woman said gently as she looked at him with her own amusement.

'_Why is Riku working with Hades? Aren't these people on the Heartless' side?' _

"You are like a son to me. I only want what's best for you," the woman said as she went to touch Riku's face.

He knocked her hand away from him with distrust.

"I seriously doubt that," he replied before leaving the way he came.

As the darkness came again, I closed my eyes and tried to remember my lost year. _'So much happened during the year I was in the darkness. Riku fell into darkness, Sora became a Keyblade wielder, Kairi seemed to lose her heart… But where was I? I mean, what was I doing during all of this?' _

I was slightly surprised when I opened my eyes to see that the scenery had changed once again. I was now on the island, but it was different. The beach was all cracked, the ocean was a purple liquid and Riku stood on the cracked beach, wearing something I couldn't picture him ever wearing. Sora suddenly ran right pass me, heading straight for Riku. _'Did they have to become enemies? Did two best friends really have to betray each other like that?' _

"Look at this tiny place. It's an island, surrounded by water," a voice laughed that did not sound like Riku at all.

'_I know that voice… Is that the fake Ansem? Xehanort's Heartless?' _

"And so this boy sought out to escape this prison. He gave into the darkness, returning his heart to whence it came," the Heartless laughed in amusement.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy were staring at him intently, waiting for something to happen. Riku turned around and the image of him faded, only to be taken over by the fake Ansem.

"Everything will fade back into darkness. The heard is no different," the Heartless continued, "Darkness is the heart's **_true _**essence,"

"That's not true!" Sora yelled at him, "Sometimes the heart may be weak, and sometimes it might even give in. But deep down I know that there is a light that never goes out."

"So you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Everything will fade to nothing… Every heart returns to darkness."

The Ansem Heartless summoned another Heartless and he began to fight against Sora. That was when the darkness returned and remained as darkness.

I sat down and then flopped onto my back, thinking hard on trying to remember what had happened the year before. Everything that happened after Axel said he would save me from Organization XIII to the point where he found me for the first time, running from the Dusks in the forest was all blank. It was like going from point A to point B without any travel distance at all. _'Why can't I remember anything? Why am I in this darkness, realizing how dumb this whole thing is?' _Closing my eyes, I started to think a little more clearly and sort certain things out.

* * *

Riku was upset about passing through the coloured orb and Demyx was just confused on what happened as they went through to The World that Never Was.

"I don't understand this, it was like she disappeared through thin air," Demyx said mostly to himself.

"She has to be somewhere in the darkness. That's the only thing that could make her disappear from nowhere," Riku said rather calmly, suppressing his emotions as best he could.

"Maybe I should go look for her," Demyx suggested, "You can't leave incase they need you to help destroy Kingdom Hearts, and I can't show up and decide to fight against the Organization."

Riku may not have really believed in Demyx for being on the good side, but this was something that he had to agree with him on.

"Yeah, good luck in finding her. When you do find Demi, could you tell her I'm sorry for not being able to protect her?" Riku wondered quietly, looking away from Demyx's gaze.

"Sure, that's definitely something I'm not the wrong guy for."

Without another word, Demyx opened a door of darkness and disappeared as Riku walked down the alley way in the dark city, one upon which he had been to before.

* * *

_**Last year… **_

I lay on my bed in my room that the Organization had given me with a solemn look on my face. _'Why don't they understand that I don't want to exist? I don't desire to be a burden on anyone, and becoming part of this Organization probably won't bring me any luck.' _Lifting my arms above my face, I looked at the bracelets that had appeared on my wrists not too long ago.

"Twin Void," I whispered the name carefully.

There was a knock on my door and it brought me back to reality. I sat up and looked around the white room with some confusion. There wasn't much in the room; a desk was placed on the other side of the room with a black Organization coat folded neatly on top at the corner, and there was the bed that I was sitting on.

"Hello?" the voice said from outside the door, checking to see if I was in the room.

"Come in," I replied quietly.

The door opened and Axel walked in with a slightly worried look on his face.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything," I apologized, looking away from his gaze.

"No need to apologize. I was just wondering where you were and wanted to know if you needed some company," he said as he sat down beside me on the bed.

For a moment I was silent, not sure of what to do.

"Is there anything that you have to do here?" I wondered with some interest.

"Not really. Xemnas wants to be low profile for a while and doesn't want to stir up too much trouble with all those Heartless going around lately. I guess he figures that it would be easier to allow the Heartless to complete Kingdom Hearts," Axel shrugged with a small smile.

"Wouldn't that ruin it? Wouldn't it fulfill their dreams and not yours?" I asked as I looked at the floor intently, looking for any trace of dirt, which there wasn't any.

"Probably, but Xemnas is the boss and what he says goes."

"Wouldn't helping me escape be against what he says?"

"Not really. That would be against what Saïx says, since he's the one who found you. Xemnas just said try to get her to join as well," he explained.

'_This is all weird to me. I only wanted to escape reality by giving into the darkness. I didn't want to become someone who bothers other people and yet here I am, burdening Axel…' _

"You don't have to help me escape. I don't have to do what they tell me to," I nearly whispered.

"I want to help you escape. You don't want to be here, so why should you be forced to? Once you're out, just please don't get on their bad side. Saïx isn't the kindest in giving punishment," Axel said with his own solemn tone.

I fiddled with my fingers, accidentally cracking one by pulling it back too far.

"So when do we try to get out?" I asked, considering the fact that it had been a few months since I had arrived at the Organization's castle.

My attention was drawn to him as he thought for a few moments on his escape plan. _'Maybe I **should **get on the Organization's bad side so they'll come after me and make me fade into the darkness. That way no one can get hurt trying to help me, or worry about me.' _

"I'll have to get you some new clothes, since you'll outgrow those ones soon. So that will take me about a day or two. So I'm guessing about a few days. I'll have to get Demyx or Roxas to help out. They're the only ones who would even consider helping me help you," Axel laughed with amusement.

"Alright, I can wait."

I was only going to do it to humor him. I didn't really care if I got out of this place or not. There were the few like Axel, Demyx, and Roxas who could understand what it was like to be an outsider, even among thieves. That was the point where I decided it didn't matter to me anymore whether I existed or not, so long as I didn't hurt anyone in the process.

_**Present… **_

I opened my eyes and stared into the darkness. I had remembered more than I thought I would and I was rather surprised. In the far distance of the darkness, it sounded like there were footsteps coming closer slowly. _'I didn't know I was so depressed about things. How sad for me.' _I laughed at my old selfishness as I stretched my arms above my head.

"Sad, isn't it? How so many things could happen in such a short time and be forgotten by the one person those moments truly matter to," a familiar voice mocked from behind me.

I sat up quickly before jumping to my feet with surprise above all things. I didn't expect the person to be that close and their footsteps that quiet.

"What's the matter? Did you miss me that much?" Rittix mocked again as she pulled down her hood and showed her long light purple hair.

How I could see her in the darkness, I wasn't sure. But I knew that she could also see me through the black nothingness.

"Did your little Riku disappear on you too?" she asked with a smirk.

"More like I disappeared on him," I replied coldly, not liking the way she was looking at me.

Rittix took another step towards me and I took a step back. _'She hates me because she had to spend the lost year in this darkness. I'm sure that being around Saïx all that time didn't help her hatred for me much either…' _I summoned my black Keyblade and held the metal handle tightly in my hand.

"Are you afraid of this place? Do you fear the dark abyss that I had to spend a year in because you existed instead of a Heartless?" she asked me just as coldly.

"You know, for someone who dislikes me so much, you ask a lot of questions," I mocked with my own smirk, "Why would I be afraid of nothingness when that's what that year was for me?"

"Do you want to know why you didn't remember last year until recently?"

'_This is awkward. I don't think neither of us really knows what to do. It's either that or she's toying with me.' _I changed the way I was holding my Keyblade slightly and took another step away.

"I'm all ears."

"All that happened during that year with Axel, the years before that as well were hidden from you. An Other will forget its life from beforehand if their Nobody escapes the darkness," Rittix explained with her smirk turning to one of amusement.

"What do you mean?"

"Others have hearts that are half light and half darkness. Both the light and darkness reside within you. But the pure darkness, the empty shell left behind, the Nobody, are what make up the darkness within an Other. I am the darkness in your heart.

"The Other exists while the Nobody is banished to the darkness until it finds away to escape. Saïx found me in the darkness and allowed my escape, which caused the darkness within your heart to erupt and block your memories," she finished with her smirk gone.

I watched as Rittix summoned a white sword to her right hand. The hilt was covered in white leather and the metal before the blade was shaped like flames with a dragon in the middle. _'She has a sword that probably does more than I think it does. There has to be magic in there or something.' _

"Are you prepared to fight me Demi?" Rittix asked as she readied her blade.

Summoning my red Keyblade, I held Twin Void tightly in my hands.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied, mostly to myself.

"Then let us go to the place of true darkness," she said as she opened a door of darkness below our feet.

'_Isn't this the place of true darkness? What could get darker than the dark?' _I wondered to myself as I disappeared through the door.

Both of us appeared in a different world, a place lighter than the last. There was an ocean with deformed rocks a short ways out. There was a moon half way set across the ocean, reflecting its light off the water. We were on a beach with large rocks to our one side and the ocean on our other.

"I fail to see how this is true darkness," I said plainly.

"Yes, the passage between the doors may be darker in sight, but this is the realm of darkness. Nothing is darker than here," Rittix replied with a smirk as she readied her sword once again.

"If you say so," I whispered, preparing myself for anything.

'_I'm more on the offense than defense, so maybe she is more defense than offense… Or she's equal in both and then I'm in trouble. But I have magic as well, so I can always go on the defensive if I have to…' _Rittix ran at me quickly, almost leaving no time to dodge as she swung her sword to strike my arm. I jumped swiftly to the right, barely escaping the attack.

"Are you afraid of the dark now?" she asked me before coming at me again.

I swung my red Keyblade to the side to knock the sword away and used the black to attack her ribs. Rittix blocked the her ribs with her free arm and took the blow before drawing back.

"I'll never be afraid of the darkness," I replied coldly, watching her intently.

"How about we cool down that temper of yours," she said with smirk of amusement as she lifted her sword above her head.

'_I'm not even mad. I just want to get this over with so I can get out of here…' _

"Freeze!" she called into the silence.

Rittix's sword began to glow a light blue and I watched at it completely frosted over.

"Fire!"

I lifted my red Keyblade and aimed it at her sword carefully to release a blast of fire to melt the ice. Rittix laughed in amusement as the fire hit her blade.

"I'll take more than that to melt this ice," she said with an amused smile.

* * *

Someone wearing a black coat walked along the sunny beach. They had been to this island before, but only once. He felt the cool breeze of the ocean on his face as it blew his red hair.

"So this is where she came from… Funny, I never expected her to come from the same place as Sora," he laughed slightly, stopping to look at a bridge that led to a smaller island with a deformed tree growing with tall palm trees.

"It's a Paopu Fruit tree," a girl said from behind him.

He turned around to see a girl with brown shoulder length hair wearing a yellow dress standing with he hands behind her back.

"Hi, I'm Selphie," she said with a wave.

"Hi. What's a Paopu Fruit?"

Selphie laughed slightly, knowing that the stranger would ask that question.

"Well, it's a fruit that grows on that tree over there. It's yellow and is sort of shaped like a star with a leaf at the top," she giggled slightly, "They say that if you share it with someone, then their destinies will be connected."

The stranger was thoughtful and then walked up the small hill to regular land to the bridge. As he crossed, Selphie followed after him, curious on what he was doing. She watched his spiky red hair blow in the wind as he walked. When they reached the small island, the stranger looked around curiously.

"I wonder if she came here a lot," he said quietly, mostly to himself.

"Who?" Selphie asked absentmindedly.

He didn't answer her question, so she made a funny face with disappointment and thought of another one, a simple one.

"What's your name?"

He turned around to look at her with a smirk of amusement, his aqua blue eyes looking at her.

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?"

**End of Chapter 6**

Yay for cliffhangers! So yeah, I hope that's a big enough twist for you. :D:D I really hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. Wow, I hope for a lot of things, don't I? Lol! Well there you go, that was my chapter. There should be about two or three left. I'll try to get this story past eight chapters, since I've ended like three on eight and two on twelve. :D:D I'll try to update again soon, but since I have to study for exams and work and badminton and karate, I don't know when I'll get the chance to. _sweat drops _Though after exams I have five days to write without school so I might get the chance to update again soon. :D:D Thank you for reading and please R&R and I'll try to update as soon as I can. :D:D


	7. Hold True

Hello everyone. Like I promised, I'm updating. :D:D I've been working on this chapter for a while and finally got it into gear and have some ideas for what I'm going to do for the next few chapters. I know I have to explain some things that **_really_** need some explaining, like how Demi knows Ansem's Heartless and a few other things… But the explaining can wait till possibly near the end, or the next chapter… I don't know yet. Lol. So yeah, I'm updating. Woo hoo! Lol. :D:D Thank you all to those who have read and reviewed this story to where I am now, I really appreciate it. If you all like this chapter it will really make my day because this day really sucked because one of my best friends won't talk to me at all because of some… thing… So yeah, I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter. :D:D

**_I give all rights to the 'meeting on the street corner' thing to the author of a story called Neon, where Kidaj meets Selphie on the street and is forced to have a conversation with her._**

**Hold True**

Riku walked down the dark streets of the World that Never Was with Demyx, both of them silent. The city was dark and full of Heartless, as they both knew. The Shadows raged the most here, those and Neo Shadows.

"Do you want to do this alone?" Demyx asked Riku as they walked.

There was no reply. Riku hadn't really spoken a word since they crossed through the darkness. Demyx knew the reason why he wasn't talking, but didn't want to bring it up.

"No need to ignore me. I'm only trying to help."

"What does it matter to you? Nobodies like you don't have hearts," Riku stated coldly.

"Aw, we do too have hearts," Demyx replied, not really hearing the coldness of the words.

Darkness appeared ahead of them, revealing Shadows.

"This place is so close to the darkness that these stupid things are everywhere," Riku cursed as he summoned his Keyblade.

"I'll take care of them. You go on ahead and I'll stay behind. That way, if Demi shows up, I can bring her to you. If you need my help, just call my name and I'll come help you," Demyx said with a grin as he summoned his Sitar.

Riku smirked behind the darkness of his hood that hid his face.

"I don't think I'll need help," he said with amusement.

"Go on, get going!"

Riku opened a door of darkness and walked through it, leaving Demyx to fight the Shadows, one of the weakest types of Heartless.

"Water!"

* * *

'_Rittix's sword is still frozen over with ice… But how is that possible? Fire always melts ice…' _I looked at her with complete confusion. How could fire not melt ice? How was something like that possible? _'I think I get it now…' _

"You have stronger magic than I do," I whispered, looking at her intently.

"Yes. You may have more physical strength than I do, but I have more magical abilities than you do. An equal trade, wouldn't you agree?" Rittix said with a smirk of amusement as she laughed slightly.

"Not really," I replied quietly.

"Enough chit chat, let's get this over with."

Rittix ran at me, her sword ready at her side as she came forward. _'If we have opposite magic and strength, then that must mean that our defenses are the same…' _Rittix was fighting to my advantage, close combat, instead of using her magic. Or maybe she was using both to up her strength. My blue eyes watched her closely, following her movement. When she was close enough, Rittix brought her sword above her head and swung it down towards me. I blocked it with my both Keyblades, just above my head in an X shape. The ice on her blade started to freeze the metal of my Keyblades. _'What the… She's freezing them!' _

"Now do you get it Demi? I'm the better of the two of us," she mocked, pushing down harder with her sword.

"You really think so?" I asked with a smirk.

I still had a trick up my sleeve, something I thought I could try without any one else's help. If it didn't work, I still had another alternative.

"Lightning," I called, a bolt of lightning striking both of our forms from the sky.

Rittix drew back, feeling more of the shock than I did.

"Since when did you know how to use Lightning?" she asked me, wincing as she dug her sword into the ground for balance.

My arms fell to my sides, dropping my red Keyblade from my left hand. There was no feeling left in that arm for the moment.

"…Since before you found me in the darkness. I came up with it while I was seeing my lost year," I laughed halfheartedly.

'_That took more out of me than I expected, but that must mean that it did the same amount of damage to her. Or if I'm lucky, than it did even more to her…' _

"Then I guess it's time I taught you a lesson," Rittix said with an evil smirk, pulling her sword out of the ground.

I was going to wait for her to attack me again. I wanted to finish this and the sooner the better.

"Water," I said as I aimed my black Keyblade at Rittix.

A water ball emerged and flew in her direction. Her smirk became amused at my attempt to best her at magic. Rittix sliced through the water ball and came at me again. _'No more defense!' _I summoned my red Keyblade again, my feeling in my hand coming back. I also ran at her and attacked first. She blocked a strike to her side and quickly blocked one to her shoulder. On my third strike she blocked and went to punch me in the stomach. The three orbs formed around my being, spinning around in unison and blasting her away from me.

Once the light orbs dispersed, I could see Rittix on one knee with her sword in the ground, holding it tightly in her hand. She wasn't too far away from me, only a few meters, but she still showed the damage of the attack. I watched her breathing heavily with exhaustion, as I too was breathing heavily. Rittix had used magic to take off most of the damage from her, but that only added to her exhaustion.

"Very good Demi… I didn't expect you to be able to fight as well as this in the short time of remembering everything. But… we're still not done here yet," Rittix laughed slightly as she slowly rose to her feet, pulling her sword once again out of the ground.

"I don't want to have to be the one who gets you to fade back into darkness. I don't want to see that happen more than once… Axel was bad enough," I whispered solemnly, dropping Twin Void to make it disappear.

She merely laughed with amusement and a smile at my words. This girl was definitely the darker, insane part of me. I had never seen anyone laugh like that at sad words.

"Too bad… It's either you defend yourself or admit defeat, because I'm not giving up until I exist in a world where you don't exist."

'_I think I would rather be an Other for all eternity than become whole with someone like this. I think her and Sephiroth would get along great.' _I laughed inwardly at that thought, remembering the silver haired man with the crazy long sword. Rittix and Sephiroth would definitely get along well together.

"Then exist in the darkness," I said coldly, not really caring anymore.

Rittix ran at me again, her sword in her hand but not held ready like it had been before. When she was close enough, she dug the sword into the ground and held onto it as she jumped to kick me back with her right foot.

Rittix's foot collided with my stomach and caused me to fly backward with the force. As I fell backwards, I summoned my black Keyblade to my right hand.

"Lightning," I said weakly before a bolt of lightning formed and struck Rittix once again.

I landed on my side, and rolled across the sandy beach into a rock. I was knocked unconscious from using too much magic and from the collision with the rock. Rittix dropped her sword at her side as she looked up at the darkened sky.

"So this is how it ends huh?" she whispered to herself.

It started to rain and as the droplets of water fell onto her face, they made it look like she was crying. Her light purple hair started to become drenched with the wetness and her blue eyes held her sadness. Rittix reached up to her neck and took off her Nobody necklace and dropped it on the ground.

"Sorry I couldn't spend our existence together Saïx," she whispered as the darkness began to engulf her.

Rittix looked at her sword that had become a normal sword once again.

"At least I went down fighting against my light," she said with a small smile before fading completely back into darkness.

The rain poured through the darkness, wetting the sand that was the beach.

* * *

Axel was sitting at the island, hoping the girl wearing the yellow dress wouldn't come back. If they had met on a street corner, and he had a choice in the matter, he would _never _go back to that street corner again so they wouldn't cross paths. Selphie had been following him around all day, asking him random questions about how he got to the island and who he was looking for. Axel was grateful when the girl's other friends came to take her away to play some other games.

"Man she was annoying," he whispered to himself as he watched the setting sun from the trunk of the Paopu fruit tree.

He wasn't certain how he ended up on this island with a crazy teenaged kid like Selphie, but he knew that this was the place Sora had originally come from, his home world. Axel never had the chance to remember his home world, only the fact that he had apparently given into the darkness and became a Nobody.

"I wonder how long it will take for her to get here. I think I'll go crazy if I had to become friends with that crazy girl," he said to himself while shaking his head.

Axel suddenly got a feeling that something was wrong, that somewhere out there, the girl he was looking for was in trouble. When he got to the island, the first thing he noticed was that his power over darkness was gone.

"Great. I can't even go look for her," he whispered to himself with annoyance.

Axel sat down beside the tree trunk and crossed his arms with a sigh.

"Demi, please come back here safely."

* * *

I woke up to the feeling of rain against my face. The sky and the amount of darkness looked the same as before, but it was raining. It had a quiet sound to it, a peaceful sound that made me feel like I was dreaming. Though, I knew I wasn't. I saw that Rittix was gone, and silently hoped, in the bottom of my heart, that she had faded back into darkness. I sat in the rain, feeling the cold water against my face. Both the waves of the water and the sound of the rain were peaceful to my ears. I stared out across the beach, watching the sand carefully. The sound of rain hitting metal was heard in my ears.

"What… what is that?" I whispered, sitting up against the rock.

Unsteadily, I got to my feet and walked toward the sound. There, on the top of the wet sand, was Rittix's Nobody necklace. _'Why did this get left behind?' _I picked it up and looked at the design of the metal. _'Should I keep it, or leave it here in the darkness?' _

As I pondered the thought, a song of some sort could be heard. It was playing softly, quietly, like the sound of a guitar or piano. _'That song… Could that be Demyx playing his Sitar?' _I held on to the necklace in my hand and followed after the sound, farther up the beach, towards the darkness. The melody reminded me of rain, or tears that fell silently from the sky. I remembered hearing once, on the island, a saying that I had forgotten when it was told to me. That saying I was going to hold on to until I forgot it again. I went deeper into the darkness, following that tune that was slow but gathered some speed to it before slowing again. On the darkened beach, someone else sat on a rock, playing a sort of instrument. Their body was giving off light and I went towards them without hesitation.

"Demyx?" I wondered, stopping only a few feet away.

"Huh?" he looked up and the melody stopped, but the rain continued to fall.

Demyx had what looked like tears going down his cheeks as he looked up, his blond hair soaked by the rain.

"You… You're crying," I whispered with surprise.

"No, no, just the rain," he laughed as his Sitar disappeared.

"I heard once, that the sky used to rake pity on us and cry, and that's why it rains. But maybe… the sky no longer cries for us like it used to," I whispered, looking up towards the sky.

Demyx laughed slightly and got to his feet from the rock. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he opened a door of darkness beside us.

"They're worried about you, so I better show them you're all right," he said with a smile before we both went through the darkness.

We came out in a world where the building we were in was all white. The Nobody sign was on the walls and in the windows. Outside was a large heart shaped moon. _'Is this The World that Never Was?' _I wrapped Rittix's chain around my wrist and latched it together. The Nobody sign hung towards the ground. Demyx sighed and looked around. We were outside, on a balcony that was also a walkway.

"You didn't bring me here to fight instead of you again, did you?" I asked with suspicion, waiting for Dusks to appear from thin air.

"No. Riku was really worried about you before we split up, so I said I would find you," he explained with a smile, his blond hair blowing slightly in the wind.

"You two split up?!" I asked, having forgotten about Riku over the time in the darkness.

"He wants to stop Xemnas, but doesn't want you to get hurt in the process. Riku was worried and I'm sure Axel was too," Demyx said as he led the way up the slanted walkway that went along the wall, around a corner, to the left, and up another ramp to the right around another corner.

'_He talks about Axel as if he's still in the realm of light… As if he was still standing beside me, telling me things would work out…' _I followed Demyx without a word, not knowing what to say. The sound of doors of darkness being opened was heard and I turned to see at least thirty small types of Nobodies that were just a few feet away.

"Um, Demyx…" I said nervously, reaching out to tap his shoulder.

He turned at the sound of his name and froze for a moment.

"Run! Run away!" he cried, running up the balcony.

"I agree!" I cried, running after him.

It was kind of amusing to have both of us running from such small Nobodies, but there were too many. When we came to the top of the balcony and burst through the doors, about five floating Nobodies appeared.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I groaned, looking at the Nobodies with what looked like a type of gun.

"Snipers… Shall we run some more?" Demyx asked with a pant from running.

"Definitely," I laughed, running through the line up of five Nobodies.

Demyx followed close behind until we went through a dark tunnel way. We came out into a blue and pinkish purple room of what were supposed to be doors. There were only two standing and glowing blue with the Nobody insignia in the middle. _'It looks like there used to be thirteen doors… Were these everyone's room?' _Demyx walked up to a broken door that had a picture of a Sitar on the floor.

"That's just plain rude," he said apparently offended, "They destroyed my favorite place!"

I couldn't help but laugh slightly at he took the action. He seemed to be really upset about the loss of his room. _'That's just like him.' _

"So the traitor has returned to accept punishment," the all too familiar cold voice of Saïx said from behind us.

I saw Demyx jump slightly as he turned to look at his once comrade.

"Hiya," he said nervously, waving his hand.

"You are pathetic Demyx," Saïx stated, summoning his weapon.

I summoned Twin Void and stood in front of Demyx protectively, not allowing Saïx to harm him. _'I won't allow another friend to be taken away from me. It's not going to happen!' _

Saïx allowed a smirk to form on his face as he watched me intently, noticing the new addition of chain on my wrist.

"So Rittix is gone and only you remain… Or have you two decided to become whole again?" he asked, advancing on us slightly.

"Back off Saïx. I won't let you hurt him too," I said defensively.

"Come with em Demi, and I'll consider letting Demyx off. Xemnas would like a word with you," he said with a sly smile.

"No. I'm not stupid Saïx, nor am I gullible. Either fight me instead or leave us alone," I threatened, tightening my grip on Twin Void.

"So be it," Saïx said as he ran at me.

He swung his weapon at me and I tried to block but I was merely thrown against a wall. Demyx got knocked out through the dark tunnel we had come through and I was pinned against the wall with Saïx's hand on my throat.

"Must you be sent back into the darkness as well?" Saïx asked me coldly, pushing harder on my throat.

'_I'm in trouble… There's no way I can get out of this on my own… Riku where are you?' _I silently pleaded for help to come as I avoided Saïx's golden eyes. My blue eyes caught sight of a black figure coming into the room and then Saïx was pulled away from me. I fell to the ground, knees bent in front of me as I tried to breathe. A breath got caught in my throat and I began to cough. _'Who is it that came?' _

I allowed myself to look up and I saw a person wearing a black coat with the hood covering their face. They had both hands on the collar of Saïx's black coat, pressing his back against the wall right beside me. _'Could that be Riku? Or is it just another person wearing a black coat?' _I wondered, trying to stop myself from coughing.

"You should give up on protecting her. One day she will fade back into darkness and you'll try with unending effort to find her, all the while knowing that it will be impossible," Saïx laughed with amusement.

"And you should give up in making her to go with you. Demi isn't as foolish as her Nobody was," a familiar voice said angrily towards Saïx.

'_Is that Ansem's voice? Ansem the Heartless?' _I wondered as I tried to recall the tone as my coughing finally stopped.

"We shall see," Saïx laughed before opening a door of darkness and disappearing through the wall.

The person wearing the hood punched the wall there Saïx disappeared.

"R-Riku?" I whispered, needing to know who it was.

"Yeah," he replied quietly, with his own voice, kneeling down in front of me.

It sounded like there was guilt in his tone, but what reason would he have to feel guilty?

I was relieved to know it was him, that Riku was as alright as could be by Riku standards. _'He's alright… Now what happened to Demyx?' _

"W-where's Demyx? Is he okay?" I asked him with worry.

"Demyx is fine. He's just sitting out there for a little while," Riku explained, placing his gloved hand against my cheek.

My hands reached up to his hood and pushed it back. I wanted to see his expression, even if it was on Ansem's face instead of his. Riku turned his head to the side and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry you got hurt again. If I was there I could have… would have protected you… But you just disappeared and I didn't know where to look," he whispered with what sounded like shame.

'_How is all this fair? Why does Riku always end up getting hurt more than I do?' _

"Don't apologize," I said as I looked at him intently, "It's my fault you ended up this way. If I… If I never gave into the darkness then you wouldn't have had to look for me after a year of waiting. If I never disappeared, you wouldn't have been possessed by Ansem's Heartless and you wouldn't be this way."

I could feel my tears coming, knowing full well that this was mostly my fault. Either mine of Kairi's.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling my tears fall down my cheeks.

His orange, golden like eyes opened and looked at me with surprise and hurt.

"Don't cry Demi. Please don't cry," he begged me, wiping my tears away with his thumb.

'_I want to make Riku normal again. I don't want him to have to pay for my mistake…' _

"Riku!" Sora's voice called with worry as he came into the room.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and a girl with long red hair wearing a rather short pink and black dress came running into the room. Demyx cam in after and ran over to me, wanting to stay away from Sora.

"I tried to stop them," he said with apology.

I laughed slightly before trying to get to my feet with Riku's help.

"It's her!" Donald accused me.

"It's who?" the girl asked, looking where Donald was pointing.

'_I think I know her… But from where?' _I had a confused look on my face.

"Kairi, that's Demi, remember?" Sora laughed, reintroducing us.

She looked at Sora and then at Riku for confirmation. She didn't really remember.

"She used to play with us when we were on the island, you know, the one who laughed when I beat Sora all the time?" Riku wondered, trying to make things clear.

Demyx was confused and by the looks of it, Donald and Goofy were too. Kairi thought about it for a few moments and then smiled.

"Yep, I remember her," she giggled, "Where did you go from the island Demi?"

"We'll talk about that later. Right now we have to defeat Saïx and Xemnas," Riku said as he turned to Saïx's door.

"You're forgetting Luxord," Demyx said as he pointed to the other door, the one with a picture of a card on the floor.

'_Who's Luxord? I don't think I've even heard of him…' _I heard Sora and Goofy groan.

"Not him again," Goofy said with his hand on his forehead.

"You have no idea how many times I got turned into a card when we were in Port Royal," Sora groaned.

I ignored the conversation and saw Demyx fiddling around with his right hand.

"Alright, Demi and Demyx can stay here. If anything comes through, then try to stop them," Sora said with a smile.

Riku looked at me with unsure eyes and I smiled.

"It's okay. Demyx and I can handle it… Unless it's Saïx, then we'll probably just run away," I laughed nervously.

"Good," he said, placing a hand on my head to ruffle my hair.

Demyx and I watched the four of them leave to go through Luxord's special place.

"So Demyx, what's wrong with your hand?" I asked him with some suspicion.

"Oh, uh, the duck bit me," he laughed with a smile.

* * *

Axel sat on the edge of the island, waiting for something to happen. He had been sitting there all afternoon, against the Paopu fruit tree trunk, staring out into the ocean.

Selphie had let him alone for a long time now, and he was grateful for that.

"So why do you keep sitting there? Why don't you get up and do something instead of just sitting?"

Selphie's voice had brought Axel out of thought. Why did she have to come and disturb him when the sun was setting? Why couldn't it have been in the afternoon when his thoughts weren't so deep?

"I'm waiting for someone… Someone important to me," Axel explained with hardly any agitation.

"Can't you go find them?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

Axel laughed slightly to himself, finding the question a little ironic. He would have been able to in the past, but not now on this little island.

"No, I can't. All I can do is sit and wait for her, in hopes that she will come back to me," Axel whispered solemnly.

"So you like her? Or is she just your friend?" Selphie wondered with a giddy tone, kicking her feet on the edge of the small island.

"I guess I do like her. She's been the most important thing to me since Roxas left… maybe even before that," he said thoughtfully, remembering all the time he had spent with that person.

Selphie laughed with a smile as she watched the water.

"Sounds to me like you really love her. I'd keep waiting if I were you, no doubt about that," she laughed slightly, about to get to her feet.

Axel was silent as he listened to the sound of the waves. Maybe Selphie wasn't as bad as he first thought, but she was still annoying.

"I will keep waiting until I see her again… I don't want her to fade into the darkness, because I don't know what happens to an Other when it fades away."

**End of Chapter 7**

Yeah! Hello again. Well that was a pretty long chapter huh? Lol. Lots of action packed into that one I think. Lol. I tried my best and I'm not sure that the title of this chapter matches what happened in this chapter, but you know what, at this moment I don't really care. Lol. 'Cause I finally updated and I'm getting somewhere. :D:D Lol. I really hoped that you all enjoyed this chapter and that you're all following along well and that this story actually makes sense in some strange way… o.O But, even if it doesn't make sense now, in some strange way, it will work out in the end and things will get explained. Lol. I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors. I needed to write something to keep my mind busy so I'm gunna write something else right after this. :D:D So I'll update again soon. Please R&R and I'll try to update as soon as I can, which might be sooner than usual 'cause I don't have to work very many hours at work for this weekend or next weekend, which is good. :D:D Anyway, please R&R and thanks for reading. :D


	8. Finding the Light

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated anything but I went away for the Easter weekend and saw some old family that I haven't seen in a long time. 'Cause some wouldn't talk to us for a long time because they have some serious damage problems but I guess everything is all good now. Lol. :D:D I was out of it for a little while but being up north really got me back into Kingdom Hearts so I'm writing things like crazy. :D:D you should all be happy. :D:D Well thank you all to those who have read and reviewed this story so far. :D:D You all make me very happy in doing so. This chapter isn't as long as the others but I'm sure you can all survive. :D:D Please enjoy!

**Finding the Light**

Demyx and I sat against the wall, waiting patiently for the others to come out of Luxord's door. _'It's been about twenty minutes and they still haven't come out yet…' _

"Does your hand still hurt?" I asked Demyx, seeing him fiddle with it more.

He laughed nervously at the question.

"…Just a little."

"Why did Donald bite you anyway?" I wondered, trying to figure out why a civilized duck would try to bite someone.

"I kind of provoked him a little. I kept calling Sora _'Roxas' _to see what would happen. The traitor called me a broken record and the duck bit me," Demyx laughed with a smile.

'_Silly Demyx… At least he learned his lesson.' _Some footsteps were heard coming up the ramp that led to where we were. _'Someone's coming…' _I silently got to my feet and summoned my black Keyblade. A silver haired figure came up the ram, his hair more or less the same as Ansem the Heartless. His eyes were a golden colour and his skin was almost as dark.

"So there are two of you."

His voice was calm, collected… as if expecting everything.

"Who are you?" I asked him coldly.

"Why have you come back here, Demyx? You know you are no longer welcome in Organization XIII," the stranger stated, ignoring me almost completely.

Demyx got to his feet and gave the man a cold stare.

"What's it to you? I have a new family now," Demyx said with a cold voice, a side of him that I'd never seen before.

'_Who is this guy? Is this the leader of the Organization? He doesn't look so tough.' _Demyx put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

"A family who treats me no different than anyone else," he continued, lifting a hand and pointing a finger at the stranger, "Unlike you, who had treated me like I was a lap dog."

"Demyx, that Other can not be your family. She is not a Nobody. She has a heart. You on the other hand do not," the silver haired man looked at the two of us, keeping his face stoic.

"You do too have hearts! If you didn't then you wouldn't be alive!" I said angrily, summoning my other Keyblade.

"Xemnas, the hearts are joining," Saïx said as he came out of a door of darkness beside the stranger, "Our empire can finally be started."

"that is good news indeed," Xemnas said with a small smile, looking beyond Saïx to a greater happiness.

'_This guy is weird… I thought Saïx was bad, but now I think Xemnas is worse.' _Xemnas opened a door of darkness and disappeared through it.

"So here we are again Demi. Riku won't be able to help you this time," Saïx said calmly as he summoned his weapon.

Demyx summoned his Sitar and let me go to stand on my own. _'We can both take him. Who cares about fair odds when he's stronger that both of us?' _

"Are you both going to take me on?" Saïx asked us with amusement.

"If we have to," I replied with an intense stare, waiting for him to make a move.

"In that case, I'll take out Demyx first."

Something was thrown at me, a copy of Saïx's weapon, and I was knocked back against the wall. Twin Void slipped out of my hands and disappeared as I fell to my knees. _'What's wrong with me?' _One of the spikes on Saïx's weapon dug into the wall and trapped me where I was.

"Let me go you stupid…" I demanded, trying to free myself.

My eyes were drawn to Demyx, who shot bubbles of water at Saïx in a stream. Saïx quickly dodged out of the way and Demyx had to stop to readjust himself. Before he could attack again, Saïx began to make copies of his weapon and started to throw them at Demyx with blasts of energy going along the ground in an X shape around him.

"No!" I cried, trying to pull myself free from the spike pinning me to the wall.

Demyx tried to recover himself in the air with a wave of water and using it to lunge at Saïx. When his feet were planted on the ground again, Demyx began to play a quick tune on his Sitar.

"Dance water dance!" he cried, making copies of himself in water.

I watched with amazement as the copied turned into guitars and started to attack Saïx. The blue haired man merely knocked them apart with his weapon, leaving nothing but water droplets on the ground. For what seemed like a minute, the copies continued to form until none were left and the music stopped playing. Demyx was panting, leaving himself completely open for an attack. _'He needs help and I can't do anything! I have to help him!' _I tried to thrash and pull against the weapon pinning me to the wall and I could feel it coming loose.

"You're not involved in this battle," Saïx said to me coldly as he threw two more copies of his weapon at me, pinning me on both sides of my shoulders now.

"Come on Demyx!" I cried with fear for my friend.

Saïx charged at him, weapon ready in his hand. He wasn't going to hold back any longer.

"Water," Demyx shouted, summoning bubbles from the ceiling and having them fall towards the ground.

Saïx's attack struck first and Demyx was thrown against a wall before Saïx threw more copies of his weapon. I watched with horror on my face as each one struck Demyx relentlessly and they all faded away, leaving Demyx panting.

"Demyx… No! You can't fade away!" I screamed, seeing the streaks of water coming from his shoulders.

His Sitar vanished with bubbles and he got on his knees with fear on his face.

"Ah, no way!" he screamed as a light blue light formed underneath him and he disappeared as if he had evaporated.

"Demyx! Demyx!" I screamed as tears fell down my cheeks.

Saïx's weapons vanished and I got to my feet to run at the remaining bubbles before they could disappear as well. _'No! He can't be gone! There's no way Demyx could be gone too!' _As I went to run pass Saïx, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me from running by.

"Let me go you jerk!" I cried at him, trying to pull free.

"Demyx has received the maximum punishment for his treachery. As has Axel. Both he and Demyx won't be coming back any time soon," Saïx said coldly to me, his golden eyes staring at me intently.

"Demyx can't fade away! He wasn't evil at all! He wasn't like you at all! All he wanted was for someone to accept him as he was!" I yelled angrily, hatefully, at Saïx for what he had done as tears fell freely down my cheeks.

"Enough Demi. You will witness our euphoria and then you will have no choice but to choose the darkness over the light."

'_Never again shall I choose the darkness. I'd only do it if it would save someone dear to me; one of my friends.'_

"Riku!" I screamed his name, wanting his help.

Saïx covered my mouth with a gloved hand and pulled me through a door of darkness.

We came out on the roof of the Nobody castle, where Xemnas was standing, staring up at the heart shaped moon with his hands out at his sides.

"Xemnas, is Kingdom Hearts ready?" Saïx asked him with interest in his tone.

"Very soon," came the calm reply.

"Then I can end this charade?" he asked with amusement, a smirk forming on his lips.

I had stopped struggling, finding the effort useless. It didn't matter how many times I called Riku's name or for help, I was sure that I wasn't going to get it. _'He has his hands full and there's no one left to save me… I can't save myself, couldn't help Demyx when he needed help… Wasn't there for Axel when he needed me most… and got Riku in someone else's body instead of his own… I'm completely useless. I can't help anyone at all…' _Xemnas turned towards us and looked very thoughtful.

"Indeed," was his simple reply.

I felt a slight laugh in Saïx's chest at the simple answer.

"How I've waited to hear that."

Saïx opened another door of darkness and we came to a white room with a large window as a wall. Through it, you could see Kingdom Hearts and the dark sky. On the other side of the room was a circle of tall spikes in the corner that made a small imprisonment are with holes in the floor.

"Are you done crying to help now?" Saïx as ked me, still covering my mouth.

I didn't move, so he simply opened another door of darkness and pushed me through it.

* * *

Tidus and Wakka were walking along the beach of their island, playing around with Wakka's ball as they went.

"Hey, what's that?" Tidus wondered, seeing a black figure lying on the beach ahead of them.

"I don't know man," Wakka replied, looking at his shorter, almost blond haired friend with curiosity.

"Should we check it out?" Tidus wondered with a small smirk, always looking for a way to have some fun.

Wakka smiled, his ball tucked under his arm.

"Definitely."

Side by side, the two ran up to the dark figure and saw that it was a blond haired guy who had to be only seventeen or so, maybe a year or two older than that.

"Hey, you alright?" Wakka asked the unconscious guy.

"I don't think he is Wakka… but let's poke him and find out," Tidus laughed, holding up his trusty wooden stick.

The stranger's short blond hair was wet, as well as his black coat since his lower half was in the ocean. Tidus poked the guy in the chest with his stick to see if he would respond in any way. The stranger began to cough and then he opened his eyes to the unfamiliar place.

"Where am I?" he asked with confusion, seeing the faces of Wakka and Tidus staring down at him.

"You're on Destiny Island," Tidus explained, pointing towards the wooden houses on the hills.

Soft footsteps were heard on the beach from behind the two boys, so the stranger sat up to see what was going on.

"Demyx?"

* * *

I came out in the little area where the spikes were in a circle and found that there was no way for me to get out.

"Sora will be coming soon… Luxord was too easily defeated," Saïx stated almost emotionlessly, though there was the hint of agitation in his voice.

'_I wish there was something I could do to help them against Saïx… but I can't. I'm not strong enough to face him alone and I have no way of getting out of here on my own…' _

"Why did you shed tears for those fools?" Saïx asked me with interest.

"What's it to you?" I asked quietly, giving a cold look to his back as he walked towards the window.

"You'd be a good addition to the Organization when Kingdom Hearts is complete. I'd like to know your reasons of thinking," he continued as he looked up at Kingdom Hearts which seemed to have a sort of blue beam going towards it.

'_I wonder what that is…' _I wondered, seeing the light coloured beam.

"They were important to me… They were what gave me light," I said quietly, not caring about whether he had heard me or not.

"Such foolish thinking," he mused with a laugh.

'_Saïx took Demyx away from me… If it was all about being a traitor to the Organization, then my running away before would make me a traitor as well…' _I grabbed the metal of the bars of the spikes. I could hear a sound and then my head turned to see Sora, Riku, Kairi, Goofy, and Donald come out through the blue door.

"Demi!" Riku said with worry, running to the bars.

I was solemn and looked towards the ground. The orange, vibrant eyes on Ansem's face looked at me intently.

"You were crying again, weren't you?" he whispered, about to reach in and touch my cheek.

Before he could reach my cheek, he opened a door of darkness and pulled my through it to be out on his side of the imprisonment area. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were closer to Saïx than we were, the two of us being back with Kairi. Saïx was facing the window, thinking quietly before turning towards us, looking at us with a smirk on his face.

"Only you could have made it this far in one piece… Roxas," he stated with amusement, his smirk not fading.

"That's really getting old!" Sora complained with annoyance.

Donald and Goofy stepped in front of his, hands out protectively.

"Yeah, he's Sora!" Donald said with just as much annoyance.

Goofy merely nodded his head in agreement. At that point, Saïx readied himself, turning his weapon slightly before taking it behind him.

"Different name, same fate," he stated coldly, swinging his weapon back in front of him.

A wind came towards us and Riku stood in front of both Kairi and I, his back to the attack. We were pushed to the narrow part of the room and a barrier separated us from Sora.

'_That wasn't good… Is Riku alright?' _I looked at Riku with worried eyes as he let Kairi go but didn't release me.

"Riku, are you alright?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah… What's about you? Where's Demyx?" he asked, resting his head beside mine, and talking in a whispered.

I froze for a moment before turning my head to the other side to avoid him.

"He's gone… He… faded back into darkness," I whispered, grabbing the fabric of his black coat.

"I see… I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you."

"No, don't apologize," I whispered, shaking my head slightly, It's not your fault that I'm not strong enough to defend myself."

Riku's hands were about to move, but then he let go and took a step back.

"Hey Riku," Kairi said with curiosity in her voice, "Do you think Sora can do it?"

He looked at her before turning to Sora.

"Yeah, he can do it."

'_Was Riku hugging me just now? Or was he just a little unsteady and needed something to hold him up?'_

"Do you feel it? The moon's power?" Saïx asked Sora as he rose off the ground and floated for a few second before charging at Sora.

Sora used his Keyblade to block the attack and then the same last of energy spread out from the attack and hit Sora. Donald attacked with Blizzard and Goofy was on his shield, spinning rapidly to attack. Saïx didn't seem all that affected and kept on attacking. Sora grabbed a copy of Saïx's weapon and hovered off the ground with the big end pointed towards the ground. He went towards Saïx and flipped the weapon and himself over, hitting Saïx and repeated the attack about three times before hitting him side to side and landing back on the ground.

Donald and Goofy went in, attacking again, followed by Sora who had his Keyblade in hand again. He attacked by swinging his Keyblade side to side. He finished off the attack using the attack with the three orbs. The orbs spun around Sora and knocked Saïx back. The blue haired man slowly got to his feet. When he was standing up fully, he dropped his weapon and took a step back unsteadily to regain his balance. We all watched as Saïx turned towards the large window, taking slow steps towards it with his left hand crossing over his stomach to his right side. _'Is that all it took to defeat him? Sora must be extremely strong to have been able to defeat Saïx that quickly…' _I watched Saïx carefully from behind Riku as he stumbled slightly and then looked up at the heart shaped moon.

"Why… Kingdom Hearts… Where is my heart?" he asked weakly, hoarsely, as he reached his right hand up and his left hung back to his side.

He had sounded sad with those words and then the darkness started to take him. Black pieces started to come off and float to the ceiling before total darkness engulfed him, leaving nothing but the memory of him behind.

Sora looked at the ground with a solemn expression before turned to us with nothing of that sadness left in his eyes.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked us, the barrier breaking.

"Yeah, we're alright!" Kairi said with a smile and a wave.

He smiled before the three of them ran to us.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Sora laughed, looking at Donald and Goofy with a wide grin.

"Easy for you to say," Donald grumbled, crossing his arms.

All of us laughed slightly before Riku turned to me with a caring expression.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked me.

I smiled and nodded my head.

"All right. Let's go."

The six of us turned and we walked towards the transparent blue door with the Nobody sign. We came out in the dark purple and blue room and looked around. _'What now? What do we do now?' _Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy walked ahead towards the ramp that led up to the next level. Riku took my hand in his and looked at me apologetically.

"Demi, I think it would be better if you waited here. There are no other Organization XIII members left except Xemnas, so no one will come after you here…" he explained rather quietly.

'_He still blames himself for all of this… I don't want him to get hurt any more either but he's more concerned about my than himself… Just like Axel and Demyx…' _

"I can wait… Just promise me that you'll come back," I said solemnly, "I don't want the darkness to claim anyone else…"

"I promise, Demi. I will come back to you in one piece," he said with a small smile.

That was all I wanted, a little reassurance that not everything and anyone I knew would disappear on me. I smiled back full heartedly.

"You better get going Riku before they leave you too far behind," I laughed slightly, pointing towards the way Sora had gone.

Riku took the hand he was holding and placed it on his cheek by bending down a little. He closed his eyes for a moment and I noticed that his cheek was really warm.

"Yeah," he whispered with a small laugh before letting go of my hand.

I blushed slightly and watched Riku run after Sora to catch up. _'All this happened because of me and he still treats me with such kindness… I don't deserve his kindness…' _With a sigh, I walked over to where Demyx's door had been at one point, with the Sitar on the floor.

"Number IX, The Melodious Nocturne," I whispered, reading the words written.

The tune he had played when we had met up in the darkness started to play in my head. _'He really was melodious.' _I mused, remembering the expression on his face as he had played. As I recalled the tune, my eyes absentmindedly glanced over to the panel next to the Sitar. On the floor was a picture of the same weapon Axel used. _'Axel…' _

"Number VIII, Flurry of Dancing Flames."

I stared at the red panels on the floor, remembering all the things my friends had done for me.

I didn't know how long I stared at those panels for, but the sound of an explosion of sorts was heard and it had come from where everyone had headed. _'Oh no! Riku! What if something's happened to them?!' _I quickly ran to the entryway and through the dark tunnel.

"He promised," I whispered to myself.

When I came out of the tunnel, everyone was knocked out, hearts were falling from the sky, and there was no sign of an enemy. _'What happened?' _My eyes scanned over everyone, looking for Riku. When my eyes caught sight of a silver haired boy with a black blindfold tied around his head instead of Ansem the Heartless, I had to gasp.

**End of Chapter 8**

Hello again. :D:D So, what did you think? Aren't you guys so happy that Riku's normal again?! Woo hoo! I know Shining Silver is. Lol. Sorry, but I'm having way too much fun with this. Lol. So, I'm aware that I'm not getting very much explaining done with these newer chapters, but I swear I'm working on it and have it all planned out for the later chapters. :D:D Lol. So you can all look forward to that. :D:D Thank you all for reading and I really hope that you will all be patient and look for the next chapter. :D:D Please R&R and I'll try to update as soon as I can. :D:D


	9. Going Home

Hello everyone! I know that it hasn't really been a while since I last updated this fanfic but for some reason and for whatever reason, the ideas for this fanfic and my Naruto one are flowing like nothing else. Lol. I haven't had this problem since I wrote _Dreaming of The Past_. Lol. So I can tell you that that was a while ago. :D:D I figure that once I get these two fanfics done then the rest will start coming more and more and then I'll update other stuff too. :D:D At least, that's what I'm hoping. _sweat drops_

Anyway, thank you all to those who have read and reviewed this story so far. It really makes me happy, but I would also like to get a little more reviews 'cause I'm really working hard on this and I don't seem to be getting hardly any feed back… which for this authoress is a little depressing since I used to get so many. So I would like to know why I'm losing all my reviewers. _cries _Lol. Anyway, thanks again and here's the new chapter. :D:D Please enjoy.

**Going Home**

Demyx looked at the one who called his name and was surprised to see who it was.

"Axel? Why are you still…" the blond tried to think about the situation.

"Wait, you two know each other?!" Tidus asked with wonder.

Axel and Demyx looked at the younger boy.

"We're friends," they both said simultaneously.

Selphie, who was standing beside Axel, looked very confused at the situation before she looked at her two friends.

"Um, maybe we should leave them alone?" she said with a questioning tone.

"Good idea," Wakka agreed.

The three of them walked together towards the houses to the centre of the island. Axel sat down beside Demyx and sighed as he stared back into the ocean.

"How is she doing?"

His voice was quiet, solemn with worry or shame because he couldn't see the one he was looking for.

"We were fine until Saïx came along. We were waiting for Riku and Sora to beat Luxord so we could move on. Then Xemnas came… as well as Saïx…" Demyx looked away from Axel, "I was beaten by Saïx and faded into the darkness."

Axel's expression was immediately worried. He knew what Saïx was capable of and how much she was afraid of him.

"But if we faded into the darkness… how did we end up here?" Demyx wondered, his tone changing to wonder as he looked at his hands before looking to the sky.

Axel thought about it for a moment. He had wondered the exact same question. If he had faded into the darkness, like all the other Nobodies in the Organization, then shouldn't all eleven defeated members be on that beach with them? Then her face came into his mind. The expression on her face when he was fading away… and the tears that were falling because of him.

"Demyx… Was she crying when Saïx came after you?"

Demyx looked at Axel with his blue eyes, trying to look back at what had happened.

"Yeah… she was. But why does that matter?"

"No one really knows the powers of an Other because there are so few of them around. If no one knows the truth about what an Other can do, then who's to say that their emotions couldn't effect who they are around," Axel began to wonder, speaking his thoughts, "Demi shed tears for us, but no one else right? She didn't want us to leave her so she cried because of it."

Demyx was confused into silence. He had no idea what Axel was talking about. But it was true. No one really knew what sort of things an Other could do besides exist and have hearts. Who was there to say that their emotions couldn't save someone else from the darkness?

* * *

I saw Riku, in his own form, lying on the ground, unconscious. _'He's… He's alright.' _I ran over to him and knelt down beside him. My heart was pounding, proving that it was thankful to who ever did this. I didn't know why, but that moment reminded me so much of the first time we met in Twilight Town. I wanted to pull the blindfold off just like I had the first time to see if the same thing would happen.

"Are you alright?" I asked him quietly.

He didn't respond. My eyes looked around at everyone with an unsure look to them. Seeing that no one was around except for Sora, Goofy, Kairi, Donald and some mouse, I decided that it was alright to try. I slowly reached for the black fabric of the blindfold and took hold of the tie at the back. As I slowly began to pull it from his head, I heard something and stopped to look behind me to see what it was. _'There's nothing there…' _A hand took hold of my wrist gently and I was surprised.

"D-Demi," he whispered weakly pulling my hand back which pulled the blindfold off his head, "Why'd you come here?"

His eyes were still closed, so I wasn't sure if he was awake or not.

"I was worried about you," I said quietly, not letting go of the blindfold.

His free hand pushed off the floor slowly and he sat up before opening his eyes halfway.

"Why were you worried about someone like me?"

His tone wasn't cocky. He wasn't saying it like he meant himself to be all powerful. He was saying it like he was worthless… like he didn't matter at all.

Riku's light blue eyes wouldn't look at me, only stared at the ground with half open eyes. _'Why does he feel that way?'_ I didn't know why, but I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes as I thought about it.

"You're important to me Riku," I whispered, not sure on how to explain.

The tears started to fall slowly and I closed my eyes to try to make them stop. _'I don't want him to believe that he's worthless… If any one is worthless here, it should be me.' _

"Demi…"

"Please don't say that it's your fault. You try to take the blame for my mistakes all the time and… you can't shoulder everyone's problems and your own…" I whispered, clenching my fists, "It must be so hard for you…"

An arm wrapped around my back and another wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me against someone. My eyes opened with surprise and I saw that it was Riku. His head was beside mine and he was holding me protectively against him.

"Riku…"

"Don't cry any more Demi," he whispered into my ear, "I take the blame for you because I don't want you to disappear on me again… You don't know how many days I spent thinking about you. Wondering where you went."

His words surprised me. They made my heart pound with something I didn't understand, something that made me feel like I mattered.

"I sat on the island, waiting every day for you to just show up out of no where. I wanted proof that you existed and that I wasn't just dreaming."

His tone was quiet, almost solemn as he said the words.

"Sora and Kairi didn't remember you at all. They both asked me if I had just made you up… After a while, I started to believe that it was all a dream… But I found you again, and I'm not going to lose you a second time," he whispered, loosening his hold to look at me with his soft blue eyes.

'_That was what I wanted… When I gave into the darkness, I wanted to let them live without my existence bothering them. Now I know that I was wrong in doing that…' _My eyes were unsure and looked down to avoid his gaze. From what I could see by not looking at him, it looked like he was sad about something.

"When we came here and you disappeared like that… I thought I wouldn't find you again. I was afraid," Riku said quietly, almost so I couldn't hear.

'_He was afraid? Riku was afraid… because of me?' _I looked at him with worried eyes. I didn't want him to be afraid for me.

"Riku… I'll promise not to disappear on you if you promise not to disappear on me."

I didn't know what I was feeling, but I knew my eyes looked unsure and worried at the same time. _'I'd feel a lot better if I was the one feeling worthless instead of him. I'd be feeling worthless, but at least then he wouldn't be…' _My eyes fell from his face to the ground and I could see that sad expression on his face again. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw it change slightly.

"I don't know if I'd be able to keep that promise," he whispered before pulling me close to him again.

I closed my eyes to fight back more tears that wanted to fall. I could feel his warm breath on my face and then his lips pressed against mine. They were gentle and soft…

After a few moments, he pulled away slowly and I opened my eyes to look at him. His light blue eyes looked at me with what looked like a smile even though it wasn't on his face. He let me go and then brought one hand up to touch my cheek.

"I'm sorry Demi, for making you cry. You promised you wouldn't cry anymore… but I guess that it's hard not to some times," he said with a slight, gentle laugh.

"Well isn't this unexpected," a familiar voice laughed from behind us, "Riku has fallen in love with an Other."

A chill was sent down my spine as I looked over and saw Xemnas standing near the ramp that led up.

"Xemnas," Riku said coldly, getting to his feet and standing in front of me.

"Allow me to give you more hate towards this situation," Xemnas offered, holding out a hand, palm facing towards the floor.

"I don't need hate," Riku stated, looking coldly at Xemnas, "All I need is what's already in my heart."

'_Riku…' _I looked up at him, his long silver hair hanging down his back.

"Then maybe I'll send the Other back into the darkness whence she came. By following your heart, you will only be consumed by darkness."

"I see nothing wrong with that."

Riku summoned his Keyblade and I suddenly zoned out. All I could see was darkness surrounding me. I couldn't do anything and then I started to fall backwards into the darkness. _'What… What's happening to me? Why can't I move or anything?' _

"Be sure to remember that it was you who sent her to her demise," Xemnas' voice said through the darkness.

"D-Demi… Demi!" Riku's voice was fading away, slowly through the darkness.

'_Riku… where are you going? Riku?' _I felt like I was falling, plummeting downward. My eyes were closed now, not showing where I was. The last thing I felt before things went completely dark was hitting water and then slowly sinking towards the bottom.

_**Two years ago…**_

After I gave into the darkness, I sat in the nothingness for a long time. I didn't know how long or what I thought about, but I knew it was dark. As I opened my eyes for the first time, I saw someone standing not too far away. They had tanned skin and were older, like a full grown up with long silver hair that kind of stuck up at the sides. _'Who is that?' _Sitting up, I watched them closely for a few minutes before they turned to me.

"Are you just going to sit there?" he asked me.

"That depends on who I'm talking to," I stated with a cold look.

They seemed to laugh slightly before they came closer. His eyes were a vibrant kind of orange and I had to admit that it was kind of creepy. _'Wait… that voice… I've heard it before. Isn't it the same man who was saying all those things about hearts fading into the darkness?' _

"I am Ansem, a ruler of darkness," he stated with a pleased smirk on his face, "And you must be Demi."

"I knew it," I said quietly, hardly excited at all, "You _**are **_that guy who I heard while I was on the island… So there really are other worlds out there."

"More than one, I assure you. Now, will I have to force you to come with me or will you come along willingly?" Ansem asked as his amusement clear on his face.

"Come along where?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

'_I didn't come into the darkness to join anyone. I just want to be left alone where no one can find me…' _

"Join me, and together we can create Kingdom Hearts."

"I think I'll pass. I have no interest in creating anything, or becoming all powerful," I said as I looked away from him, "All I want is to be nonexistent to the outside world."

He laughed again, of course with amusement to my words.

"Then perhaps another time."

Ansem disappeared and I laid back down on whatever I was on. It could have been ground or a table for all I knew. Everything was black and dark, so to me it didn't really matter. _'I just hope that everything is alright with everyone now. I hated messing everything up for them, so maybe this will make everything better between them…' _Upon closing my eyes, I once again lost track of time. It could have been weeks, maybe months, or even a year for all I knew, but it felt like a very long time of just sitting in that same nothingness, in the exact same spot.

"How long have you been sitting here like this?" an unfamiliar voice asked me.

'_Who is it now?' _Opening my eyes again, I looked at the stranger before slowly getting to my feet.

"You're not going to go on about some nonsense too are…"

I was cut off by something striking me in my stomach, completely knocking the air out of me. _'What the… What just happened?' _Coughing a few times, everything suddenly went black and silent. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a white room surrounded by thirteen people. _'What exactly happened?' _

_**Present…**_

Opening my eyes, I was confused. _'What happened? Wasn't I falling..? What happened to Riku?' _I looked around at where I was. I was lying on a bed in a wooden home. _'This place… It looks so familiar… But I couldn't be where I think it is…' _Using my hands to push me up, I sat up with confusion. It was a girl's room, full of bright yellow and pink clothes. There were teddy bears and skipping ropes on the floor. I heard the door open and froze with who I saw standing there, obviously as shocked as I was.

"Demi, you're alright!" he said happily and he ran towards the bed.

"What… Axel?" I whispered with confusion as he pulled me into an embrace, "Is this just a dream?"

"I hope not," he stated with what sounded like worry, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I've been worried about you."

"So you're telling me this is all real? That you didn't fade into the darkness?" I asked him with confusion, remembering the moment he faded away.

Axel's arms seemed to tighten around me at those words, as if he was trying to hold me closer to him than I already was.

"I did fade into the darkness," he whispered into my ear, "But you saved me."

'_I saved him? How did I save him when all I did was sit there and cry as it happened?' _

"Axel, I don't understand. How did _I _save you? I just got there when you were talking to Sora…"

"You cried for me Demi. You cried for Demyx… Your tears saved both of us, because we're both here," he said gently with a small smile.

I pushed myself out of Axel's arms, trying to think straight when I couldn't that close to him. _'Demyx is alright too… This isn't just a dream… It's all real. Everything's real. I'm back on the island and Demyx and Axel are here too… but what about Riku?' _Axel looked at me with worry clear in his almost green eyes.

"Who else is here?" I asked him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Kairi, the King, Donald, and Goofy," he told me calmly, "They said that they were going to come home when Riku and Sora got left behind because the door closed on them."

'_Closed on them? How could the door close on them?' _

"I see," I whispered, looking away from his gaze.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Axel said suddenly with a happy tone, "Wanna go for a walk to the island?"

'_The island… now there's a place I haven't been to in a long time…'_

"I could go for a walk," I smiled slightly, getting off the bed and stretching.

I felt my back crack slightly and it felt good to be on my feet again.

"You know, you scared me when we found you on the beach," he said quietly, watching me closely incase I would fall over or something.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that I scared them?" I asked Axel with some amusement as I headed towards the door, "First Riku, now you. What is it? Tell Demi _'you scared me'_ day or something?"

He gave me a confused look at my words.

"We found you washed up on the beach Demi," Axel said with worry.

I stopped going for the door. _'…The beach? So, I really did hit the water and sank like that?' _

"Demyx and I were sitting on the beach. We saw something falling from the sky and then it crashed into the ocean. After about a half and hour, we figured out that it was a person that had fallen," Axel started to explain, an expression in his eyes as if I should understand, which I didn't, "We went looking around the island to see if they washed up somewhere on the beach and we just hadn't found it yet.

"Then, we went to the smaller island to see if they could have washed up there. The person that fell from the sky like that, it was you Demi. We found you on the shore of the little island, on the other side behind the ledge."

'_I worried both of them… All three of them were worried… and now I've probably made Riku worry even more because of what happened… Yet at the same time, I relieved Axel and Demyx by appearing here… Why can't everything just work out for once?' _

"I'm sorry Axel… I didn't mean to make you worry," I started solemnly, "Xemnas appeared and then everything went black… now I don't even know where Riku is…"

There was a hurt expression on Axel's face that told me that he really had worried about me. It looked like he was still worrying about me. With one glance to those hurt green blue eyes, I had to smile to lighten up the mood.

"So are we going to go for that walk or are we just going to stay in here?" I asked him playfully.

"Yeah," he replied, catching up to me as I opened the door.

As we made it down the stairs, I began to wonder whose house this was. It sort of looked familiar from a long time ago, but I wasn't so sure. _'I better keep smiling for Axel so he doesn't have to keep worrying anymore. If I smile then he won't think that anything is wrong and things will be better for him… So long as I act naturally, then nothing should go wrong, right?' _As we came off the stairs and I went for the door, I started to remember whose home this was.

"Selphie," I whispered, remembering the crazy, hyperactive girl who loved to skip and wear yellow almost everyday.

"She's out with Tidus and Wakka right now," Axel said from behind me, almost like a reflex.

I opened the door and was really surprised by his words.

"You met Selphie?" I asked, rather incredulous.

"Yeah, the child's insane. She hasn't left me alone pretty much until Demyx showed up," he explained with a slight laugh.

I could only imagine Axel's expression to being stuck with Selphie for more than a few hours. The girl had driven me insane while I was at the island the first time. I had forgotten that she would probably still be here if I ever had the chance to come back. The only thing I had cared about while I was away from the island was that Riku wouldn't be hurt anymore, especially not by me.

"I'd believe it," I mumbled, "Once she did a thousand jump ropes in four minutes. She was going to go for two thousand in eight or seven minutes but she fell over from tripping on the skipping rope."

Axel started laughing at my words. I stopped and looked back at him with some confusion. It looked like he was going to fall over because he was laughing so hard. _'It's not that funny, is it?' _

"Aw man, I'll have to tell that one to Demyx later. He'll really get a kick out of it," he laughed, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I didn't think it was all that funny," I whispered, turning forward again.

"It's not really funny. It's just funny to hear. I mean, I can see her doing that," Axel continued to laugh as he stood up straight again.

I smiled at his amusement. He was still Axel, the same silly, kind, red haired Axel that I had met a while ago.

"Come on, I'll race you to the island," I challenged, pointing out to the small island that had the bridge going out to it.

Axel looked towards the bridge and then smirked as he turned his attention back to me. _'What's he planning?' _

"Let's make a deal," he said, a devious expression on his face, "Whoever wins gets to share a Paopu fruit with whoever they want."

"A Paopu fruit?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow, almost laughing, "You don't really believe that story do you?"

"It all depends. I believe in it and yet at the same time I don't."

'_That's weird.' _Shrugging it off, I smiled with amusement.

"Sure. I'll take that bet."

"Okay. Now on your mark, get set… go!"

Both of us took off towards the little bridge that led to the island. We both climbed up the little ledge, Axel making it up before I did. As I made it up, he was already off to the bridge with great speed. I pushed myself to go faster than I thought I could. I caught up easily and was running beside him again.

"You're fast," Axel laughed slightly.

"Not really," I admitted with a small laugh as well as I went a little faster.

As we made it to the smaller island, I beat Axel and tripped along the way, sliding across the sand on my stomach. He started to laugh as he came over to me and helped me up. _'And here I was starting to think that I was getting out of my clumsiness… But I guess it comes with the territory.' _I mused to myself, smiling slightly.

"You alright?" he asked gently, holding my hand carefully.

"Of course," I said with a smile.

"That's good to hear," he whispered.

Pulling me a bit closer to him, Axel placed a soft kiss on my forehead before letting me go.

"Demi," he whispered, about to say something.

My eyes caught sight of two blue objects suddenly falling from the sky. They came through the clouds and were falling towards the ocean.

"What is that?" I whispered, only focused on the falling objects.

'_It couldn't be… could it? Could that be Riku?' _Axel turned towards the ocean, where the things were falling from the shy.

"It's the same… I think it's them," he said quietly, probably not intending on letting me hear him.

'_Then it is Riku and Sora?' _My heart began to pound with relief at the thought that Riku was alright. Behind us, there were quick footsteps coming from behind us and I saw Demyx running towards us.

"Demyx!" I said happily, having him run into me and give me a hug.

"You're alive!"

He sounded like he was rejoicing and yet crying at the same time.

"I thought Saïx was going to shred you to pieces."

"Well it's good to know that you have every shred of hope in me," I mused sarcastically, breaking out of his hug and turning towards the beach.

Kairi, the King, Goofy, and Donald were all there; the three animal like people farther back. Riku and Sora collided with the water head first and then they immediately popped their heads back out, Sora seeming to be smiling. Kairi began to wave and the two started to swim closer. They were fast swimmers, making good time. When they made it close enough to shore that they could walk in the shallow water, Donald, Goofy, and the King came running towards Sora and Riku. Donald and Goofy tackled Sora down into the water, climbing all over him and giving him hugs so he couldn't stand.

Riku was back a bit more as the King jumped at him happily. They all seemed to be laughing as Sora looked at Kairi.

"We're… We're back," he tried to laugh, though it was a quiet one.

Kairi nodded and held out her hand to him.

"We're home," she smiled.

Sora had something in his hand; a star made of sea shells that Kairi had made a long time ago on the beach. He placed it in her hand as she helped him to his feet.

In those moments, seeing everyone so happy and carefree, I kind of felt alone again. _'He's alright… and that's all that matters. If he doesn't need me anymore… doesn't remember me, then that's his choice.' _I forced a smile to form on my face as I watched Riku start to look around.

"Demi, who do you choose to share the Paopu fruit with?" Axel's voice asked me, snapping me out of thought.

My smile turned into a small smirk. I had a plan, but that didn't mean that I had to tell him.

"That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

'_I know what I'm going to do… But he can't know the truth yet… no one can know the truth yet until I know for sure.' _Riku caught sight of the three of us and he began to run in our direction. He wasn't wearing that black coat anymore. He was wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants. He was Riku again, more so than ever.

"Demi!" he called out to me.

At the sound of his voice calling my name, I couldn't hide the smile that appeared on my face. I was overjoyed that he remembered who I was.

"Riku," I half laughed as I jumped off the island and into the water, trying to run to him.

The water was up to my waist as I ran, slowly getting lower as I came closer to shore. He met me half way, us both in the water, and he embraced me protectively.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered into my ear, his wet silver hair resting against my head.

"Yeah, me too," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his torso.

'_They're all here, on the island with me… I guess that the darkness didn't solve anything.' _

Axel stood on the smaller island with Demyx, watching us closely.

"You know," Demyx started, "He is closer to her age…"

"I know," the read head said quietly, with a sad expression in his eyes.

"Then why don't you let them give it a try first?"

"Because I don't want her to end up with him..." Axel nearly whispered, "I want her."

Demyx sighed and patted Axel on the back.

"I know I'm probably the wrong guy for this… but maybe this choice is left up to Demi and no one else. I mean, only she can choose who she wants to be with."

Things fell silent as they watched the scene for a few moments. The ocean breeze blew gently against their faces and hair.

"I see how it is… I'll let her decide."

Looking up at Riku, I smiled before he let me go.

"Riku… later I have a question to ask you," I said quietly, not really looking at him, "When no one else is around…"

"Sure, not a problem," he smiled, nodding his head while placing a hand on my head.

"Okay," I half laughed as I grabbed his wrist with both of my hands.

'_Maybe things will work out and nothing bad will happen. Then maybe I could spend my time with the three of them from now on instead of just one of them…' _We walked back to the beach and I turned towards Demyx and Axel, waving for them to come over. Demyx gave a wide smile before jumping into the water. When Axel didn't follow, he turned towards the red head and ushered him to come too.

"I thought that once things faded into the darkness they couldn't be saved," Riku said quietly, watching the two ex-Organization members coming closer.

"I guess that's something we'll have to figure out later," I mused, holding Riku's hand.

"Demi, from now on there will be no secrets between us," he said gently, looking at me with a gentle expression, "We'll tell each other everything."

"Alright," I agreed, looking at him with a wide grin, "Let's stay as far away from the darkness as we can."

**End of Chapter 9**

Hey again. So, did you all like it? Huh, huh, huh? I had a but of trouble with the beginning 'cause I'm stuck on romance parts in like all my fanfics except for my Naruto one, which is kind of sad. Like pathetic sad, not depressing sad. Lol. Anyway, my supper is ready now, so I really hope that you all enjoyed that chapter and that I'll get some more reviews in the future. :D:D Please R&R and I'll try to update when I get the chance to. :D:D Yeah, that's right, I'm not done this one yet. xD


	10. A Hard Choice

Hey everyone! I know it's been a little while since I last updated this and I'm really sorry, but these are the last couple of chapters coming up so I kind of had a little brain fart on how to end it but now I'm good and I'm going even if this chapter is a little shorter than other ones. Lol. But I really tried and at least I have gotten it up. Thank you all to those who have read and reviewed this as far as it has gone so far. Lol. :D:D Well I really hope that you all enjoy this chapter and I hope to have the next one up soon. :D:D

**A Hard Choice**

Axel and Demyx came over and Demyx rubbed my head with a wide grin on his face.

"So we're all accounted for now?" Demyx wondered with a smile.

Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and the mouse came running over to us as well and we crowded the beach.

"Axel, didn't you fade into the darkness?" Sora asked with a cocked eyebrow, "You know, I was right there."

"I thought I did too, but when I opened my eyes I was here," Axel explained quietly.

'_I wonder what's wrong with Axel…' _

"How does that work?"

Now Sora was even more confused.

"I guess we'll never know," Riku stated, about to start walking away from everyone.

"Where are you going?" Donald asked.

"I want to go to a place I haven't been in a long time."

Riku pulled me along behind him towards the waterfall and little pond. Beside it was the cave that Sora and Kairi had spent so much time in. _'I think something's going on that I'm not aware of…' _

"Demi, I want to show you something," Riku started quietly, "Something that has changed over the past two years."

"Alright," I agreed, nodding my head.

* * *

Everyone on the beach split up. Sora and Kairi went to the dock. Donald, Goofy, and the king stayed on the beach, looking out into the ocean and talking about how they were going to get home. Axel and Demyx went back to the little island, watching the sun in the sky.

"I can't stop wondering if she'll be happy with him," Axel nearly whispered.

"Well, we're going to stay until she doesn't want us around anymore," Demyx said with a smile, "We won't leave otherwise… Besides, it's not like we _can_ leave. We're on an island!"

Axel smiled slightly at those words. There was much truth behind them because they were on an island with nowhere to go.

"If he hurts her, then I'll watch over Demi… I'll protect her so she doesn't have to fight anymore."

"Agreed. We won't let her stay by herself," Demyx nodded with a grin on his face.

Things fell silent for a few moments except for the sound of the ocean and the waves.

"So Demyx, did the duck bite you?"

Demyx's face froze for a moment and then as the silence drew on, both ex-Organization members burst out laughing.

* * *

Riku led me into the cave and my blue eyes wandered over the tunnel until we came to the actual cave. There were drawings all over the rocks in white from other rocks being rubbed against them.

"Wow," I half laughed, "You guys really had a hay day in here, didn't you?"

"Kairi and Sora did most of them, but I only did a few," he said quietly, looking around the cave as well.

'_The door… I remember that always being there… We always wondered where it led to.' _Riku turned to me with gentle eyes and I could tell that there was still something bothering him.

"What's wrong?"

"You're not going to disappear on me again, are you? Now that I've found you… I don't want to let you go again," he said quietly, resting his forehead against mine.

"I don't plan on going anywhere… do you?" I asked suspiciously, looking him in the eye.

Riku laughed slightly as he pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me.

"I wouldn't go anywhere if I couldn't take you with me."

I blushed slightly as I looked up at his face. His eyes were so gentle and kind, staring down at my face. _'Why do they bother make me feel this way? Why can't I stop myself from wanting to be near both of them?' _

"Riku," I whispered, closing my eyes as I listened to the sound of his beating heart.

"What would you like?" he wondered quietly, as if he was near sleep.

"What was it like?" I asked, almost solemnly, "What did it feel like, being possessed by Ansem? By the darkness?"

I heard his heart jump slightly as Riku heard my question. _'Does that bother him?' _I opened my eyes to look up at him, but he shook him head and put his hand on the back of my head.

"Please…" he whispered, "please don't look at me."

I felt something wet hit the top of my head and I was surprised to the point of not having and words. _'Oh Riku… why are you crying?' _I wrapped my arms around Riku's back as comforting as I could.

"You are the first person to ask…" he tried to sound amused as his tears fell silently down his cheeks, "Is that the question you wanted to ask?"

"I just wanted to know why you were so sad all the time…. Why when you looked at me, you looked like you were ashamed of yourself…"

Things were silent for a few moments and then Riku lowered his hands to let me go. My arms instinctively let him go and hung at my sides. His light blue eyes looked at me with un-sureness and that lasted a few seconds. _'There's something wrong… He's not telling me… He said that we shouldn't have any secrets between each other anymore.' _As my mind was thinking frantically with worry, I didn't notice his face coming closer to mine.

"R-Riku-"

I was cut off as his lips pressed against mine gently and a blush immediately formed on my face. It last a few moments before he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

"Thank you," Riku whispered, "I'll answer your question later."

I was still at a loss for words for what happened, so I merely nodded.

"Demi!" a voice called from outside the cave, "Where are you?"

It was Demyx and his tone made me smile.

"We want to talk to you," Axel called after, his voice sounding like he was laughing. _'Crazy idiots…' _I laughed as I looked at Riku.

"Go on," he said with a smile, "I'll meet you on the island when the sun sets."

"All right," I replied, nodding my head.

I turned away from him and ran down the tunnel to the exit that covered in hanging vines.

"Come on Demi!" Demyx sounded like he was shinning now.

"I'm coming," I laughed as I made it outside.

Axel was close to the beach now and Demyx was beside the waterfall.

"Come on," Demyx said, grabbing my hand, "We want to show you something."

He pulled me along in a run for a minute before letting go. Both him and Axel disappeared around the corner, I ran after them. _'What are they doing?' _When I rounded the corner, I got sprayed by water and all I could hear was both of them laughing.

"That's it," I whispered with a dark smirk, "You two are gunna pay."

I ran after Axel and Demyx started laughing harder as I chased him through the shallow water.

"Why are you coming after me when Demyx is the one who sprayed you?" he asked as he tried to run through the water.

"You're probably the one who planned it out!"

I heard a small chuckle come from him and I knew I was right. He **had** planned it out. _'I knew it.'_ As I came closer to him, I tackled Axel to the ground and we made a large splash in the waves.

"Ow, that hurt," he laughed, looking up at me from me sitting on him.

"Not as much as this," I laughed, reaching up and giving him a noogie.

"Hey!" he protested, trying to grab my arm to make me stop.

When I didn't stop, I got thrown to the side by someone and into a deeper part of shore.

Getting back up, I saw Demyx and Axel standing beside each other.

"Have a nice swim?" Axel asked me with a small smirk.

"It was very nice, thank you," I said with my own smirk.

My hair and clothes were dripping wet and the water was dripping down my face. Axel's black coat was soaked and dripping, but somehow his hair was barely wet at all. _'That's not fair… He should be soaked too.' _I saw Axel whispered something to Demyx and Demyx nodded before waving to me and turning to leave.

"Is it alright if I talk to you – alone - for a while?" he asked me with unsure eyes.

My dark thoughts of revenge disappeared at the look in his eyes.

"Sure," I replied, nodding.

I ran towards shore and sat down on the beach with a smile. He smiled slightly before coming over as well. _'I wonder what's wrong… I don't think he's ever been this down before.' _Axel sat down and stared out into the ocean.

"Do you like Riku?" Axel asked quietly.

It sounded like he didn't want an answer to that question. _'Then why would he ask it?' _

"I… I don't know," I whispered, never having really thought about it.

'_He did kiss me… so that means he likes me, right? And he makes me happy when I get to see him smile…' _

"I guess I do."

"I see," Axel whispered with a quiet tone.

"Why?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

He was silent for a few minutes before he adjusted his position slightly.

"This may probably sound selfish, but I didn't want you to go with him," Axel nearly whispered as he stared out into the ocean, "I wanted you to stay with me… I guess that maybe I was afraid you were going to leave me alone."

'_Leave him alone? Does he mean abandon him?' _I looked at Axel with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry… but I have no intention of leaving you and Demyx in the darkness," I told him quietly, looking back out into the ocean, "When you two faded away, I cried because I didn't want you guys to leave. You were too important to me."

Those words made Axel look at me with a questioning look.

"Demyx said we were a family; his new family," I said as I pulled my legs to my chest, "I believe that. Together we're a family."

"That sounds like something he would say."

Axel may not have received the love he wanted, but he got a different kind of love. He got a special bond between friends and no one could break that. _'I know now that the four of us will share the Paopu fruit together and if they won't eat it willingly… then I'll sneak it into their food.' _With a smile, I got to my feet as the sun sat in the sky.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, looking out over the waves.

"Sure."

"Tell Demyx to come to the island tomorrow morning, nice and early. And you show up too. I have something for you," I stated happily as I got to my feet.

"Where are you going?"

"It's my turn to show you something."

Holding out a hand, I helped Axel to his feet and led him to the small waterfall near the obstacle course. I wasn't going to rest until I had revenge.

* * *

As the sun began to set, Riku sat on the trunk of the Paopu fruit tree as he listened to the calm waves of the ocean.

"Nothing sounds better," he whispered to himself, feeling the cool breeze against his skin.

Being home again felt wonderful to him. The place he belonged to the most was the island and he knew that now. While he was gone, he missed the waves of the ocean hitting the shore. He heard footsteps coming closer on the dirt behind him. He turned and smiled when he saw the light blue hair.

"Hey," I said with a wide smile as I jumped onto the trunk as well.

"What happened to you?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow and laughed in his voice.

I was soaking wet from head to toe. Water was still dripping from my hair.

"Oh," I laughed, looking at my wet shirt, "Axel and I got in a water war together. Then Demyx joined in and I guess I lost."

Riku laughed at the explanation and moved a wet strand of my bangs out of the way of my face. _'Why is it that when I look into his eyes he never seems to be peaceful?' _

"Riku… what are you thinking about?" I asked him quietly.

His face became solemn and he looked towards the setting sun over the ocean.

"You," he replied in almost a whisper.

"What about me?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

'_He's trying to avoid the question…'_ He didn't answer me.

"Please don't avoid me Riku," I whispered, "I told you not to burden yourself with it. You can't take the blame for my problems."

Riku sighed and didn't turn to look at me.

"I know," he replied, "but I can't help it… I really care about you and…"

He trailed off, not finishing his thoughts.

"I don't care that I chose to fade into darkness… that I became an Other because of it. Even if I was a Nobody… I wouldn't care. I still have my heart, even if half of it is consumed by darkness," I explained, looking at the sunset and seeing the beautiful colours that I had seen the first day I met Riku again. _'There will always be light in the world… even if there is darkness there as well. What path a person takes can only be decided by them. No one should be a medium for their decision.' _

"You see Riku," I said with a small smile, "It's right now that makes me happy. Not a week or so ago when I couldn't remember anything… It's the happy moments and memories that should matter, not the dark ones."

"I don't believe that," Riku whispered, turning to look at me, "I believe that all memories matter even if they are bad ones. You learn from them… but I guess that it's not a good thing to dwell on the bad ones."

Things fell silent for a few moments before I looked at him with curious eyes.

"So, are you going to answer my earlier question?" I wondered.

He sighed again and looked at me gently. _'I really want to know what he felt when that happened… then I could make it go away.' _

His eyes were gentle yet unsure at the same time. It worried me that the memory might hurt him.

"It was like my heart was being crushed with loneliness and nothingness," he whispered, "It started as jealously of Sora getting Kairi… that I would really be left alone… Then that feeling consumed me to the point where I was afraid to be alone."

"_Sora and Kairi forgot about you."_

'_With me gone… Riku wouldn't have had anyone else if Sora and Kairi left him alone would he?' _

"Then I remembered you," Riku stated, almost looking away as if he was ashamed, "I remembered I had to find you while I was in the darkness, but it was like my body was moving without me. I was forced to watch everything happen without being able to make a decision… Ansem was making them for me."

'_That's not fair… This was entirely my fault. Everything was my fault that Riku went through so much pain alone.' _I put my hands together in my lap and looked down at them without saying anything.

"Demi I…" he started, looking away as well, "I didn't mean to forget about you…"

"That's not it," I whispered quietly, furrowing my eyebrows at my hands.

"Then what…"

"You spent all that time alone without being able to control what was happening around you… It wasn't your fault at all. It makes me wish that I hadn't run away like that."

Riku looked at me again with an apologetic look in his eyes. It felt like I wanted to cry again so I closed my eyes to try and keep them in.

"If I wasn't such a coward… I could have…"

"But I found you again Demi," he told me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "That's what matters to me. That you're safe now and things worked out in the end."

'_They worked out all right…' _I tightened my grip on my hands.

"You shouldn't have had to go through that though," I whispered, "All I had to go through was sitting in the darkness for a long time… not being controlled by someone and being completely alone…"

At first Riku didn't really know what to say that could be of comfort, but I guess he found it when he took his hand away and jumped to the ground below.

"You know what?" he asked from in front of me.

"What?" I asked as I opened my watery eyes.

Riku was standing before me, facing as he looked up towards me.

"You're the only person who I feel hasn't turned their back on me," he stated with caring eyes, "Right now, I feel like you've always been the one standing beside me when no one actually was… You are my light."

My eyes widened slightly at his words. I was surprised to hear that considering I was really a being of darkness; even if I was the light side of my heart. _'I'm his light?' _

"Oh Riku," I whispered, "You're my light too."

He pulled me off the Paopu fruit tree trunk and into a protective embrace.

"Nothing's going to take you away from me," he whispered as the sun fully set.

**End of Chapter 10**

Hello again everyone. I really hope that you all enjoyed that chapter even though nothing really happened in it. You got to see how Riku really felt about being possessed and stuff like that so I hope that I got into it right and did everything fine. :D:D Well, please R&R and I'll try to update whenever I get the chance. Thank you for reading. :D:D


	11. New Endings and Beginnings

Hello everyone. I know that it hasn't really been a while since I last updated this story but I finally got in the mood and decided that it was time for a final chapter… I'm sorry to say that, yes, this is the last chapter of In Darkness. And in total of those 11 chapters, this fanfic has become a total of 83 pages long on my computer _**AND**_ it has become the complete fanfic with the most words. Yay! Something finally beat _**A Price to be Paid**_ in words. :D:D

That makes me happy, and since I'm so happy, I really want to thank all those who have read and reviewed this fanfic all the way to the end. And especially _**Tsanayi-sama **_because she stuck with this the entire time (I'm really sorry if you're really a guy 'cause I wasn't sure... so I just assumed. _sweat drops_ so sorry). I also wanted to thank her for thinking about this fanfic while she was shoveling snow. That was most definitely the first time I have ever heard of someone doing that, so thank you_** Tsanayi-sama**_ for doing that. I really enjoyed hearing it. :D

Thanks again so much to everyone and I hope that you _**all**_ enjoy this last chapter, because there might always be a small surprise at the end. :D:D Please enjoy!

**New Endings and Beginnings**

Riku had gone to the island alone and Sora had followed him shortly after. It was early morning and I had still been asleep when Riku had left. I had been staying with Riku since my parents didn't remember who I was anymore. It was funny how everyone I had known before seemed to remember me when I came back… all but my own parents. I thought that maybe for them, the though of me leaving hurt them too much so they had no desire to remember. But I found that now had a little brother who was two. He would be three soon.

I sat up from the bed and looked around. My blue hair was a mess around my head and the sun was shining in through the window. I could see Riku talking with Sora and I saw him point to the brown haired boy's chest. _'They're talking about something that happened while they were in the darkness… aren't they?' _That was the only thing Riku didn't tell me; hadn't told me. He didn't want me to know what happened after I had returned to the island before him.

"We're doing well, aren't we?" I asked myself with a small smile.

It had only been a few days since we had come back to the island and things already seemed like normal. Before this… everything kind of seemed like a dream. _'I wonder what Axel and Demyx are up to right now…' _I got out of bed and got changed into my vest and pants. I brushed my hair with a smile and ran downstairs before running outside to look for them.

Axel and Demyx had their own little house together, just as friends, of course. They were like brothers to one another, always laughing and having fun. When Selphie had come to see Axel one day and Demyx met her for the first time, by the time she said hello, he went running and screaming to hide away from her. Her hyperactive personality was enough to scare even Demyx away.

When I made it outside, I saw Tidus hitting Wakka's blue ball away and they were playing catch.

"Hey Demi!" Tidus called, waving his hand in the air.

He got hit in the head by Wakka throwing the ball. I laughed as Wakka turned to me and Tidus glared at his best friend.

"You come play with us, ya?" Wakka wondered with a grin before the ball got thrown into the back of his head.

"That's for hitting me," Tidus mused with his own grin.

"I didn't throw it that hard," the orange haired boy accused.

"Besides, she wants to go play with Axel and Demyx, not us," the blond said with another grin.

"Um, maybe later," I laughed slightly with a small wave.

Wakka shook his head slightly before he brightened up a bit.

"I almost forgot! They were looking for you, ya? They said to meet them at the obstacle course," he told me.

Then he got smashed in the back of the head again with his ball with Tidus making fun of him, "Go flirt with Selphie, you know Demi has a boyfriend."

"Shut up, ya."

I shook my head and laughed before taking off to the obstacle course. _'Those two are so weird.' _I ran pass the smaller island and under the bridge towards the obstacle course. It wouldn't take me long to get there which I thought was good. It was already a good morning as far as I was concerned.

* * *

Sora looked at Riku with some confusion.

"My heart?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"No you're necklace, you goofball," Riku said sarcastically, "Of course it was your heart."

They both laughed for a few moments before Kairi came running with something in her hand.

"What's wrong Kairi?" Sora asked her when she stopped to pant from being tired after the run.

Both boys were interested in what would cause Kairi to run all the way out to the little island to talk to them.

"Here," she said, holding up a clear glass bottle to them.

Sora had seen the green mouse insignia on a rolled up piece of paper, "It's from the King!"

He immediately flipped the bottle to its top so he could remove the paper from inside so they could see what it had to say. Kairi looked at Sora with worry as he began to read what the letter had said. Even Riku was leaning over curiously to see what was written there. That was until his curious expression became a line at what he had read.

When Sora was done, he looked at Riku with wonder, seeing if he would also comply with the letter's request.

"I can't," Riku stated, looking away from his best friend's gaze.

"What? Why not Riku?" the spiky haired boy asked with confusion.

"Sora… you just got back," Kairi nearly whispered, not being able to look at him either.

Her blue eyes were looking at the ground and Sora turned to look at her.

"Aw, not you too Kairi," he nearly whined.

"I'm not saying no because I feel like it Sora," Riku said as he looked at Sora intently, "I just got her back and I'm not going to leave her behind for this."

"Then she can come along," Sora said simply, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"No she can't Sora. She's in danger if she comes with us. The darkness won't stop looking for her and she's the safest here, on the island," Riku tried to explain, "Do you have any idea what Axel would do to me if I left Demi alone again?"

Riku's tone was hurt because he knew that if he left, he would make her worry and he would worry about her. There just didn't seem to be a point in it at all.

"You're just over reacting Riku," the spiky haired boy told him with a small smirk, "Well I'm going and I'll be leaving tomorrow. You can come along if you want to."

Riku just shook his head and walked towards the beach, leaving Sora and Kairi alone.

He walked around the island and saw Wakka and Tidus beating each other with Wakka's blue and white ball. Something had gotten them going.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow and some amusement.

Wakka had gotten pelted in the forehead and Tidus re-caught the ball before he turned to Riku.

"Hey Riku," he said with a wide grin, "If you're looking for Demi she went to the obstacle course. Wakka _politely_ directed her the right way."

"I said shut up, ya!" Wakka demanded, rubbing his head.

"What are you guys fighting over anyway?" the silver haired boy asked with some wonder.

"We're not fighting," Tidus said with a laugh, "I'm just teasing him on how he was flirting with Demi."

Tidus threw the ball and Wakka caught it in his hands before looking at his best friend evilly.

"Now you've done it, ya," he said as he threw the ball and hit Tidus in the forehead as well.

So that had proven that he had been flirting, which only made Riku shake his head with some sympathy. He knew that she didn't want to be with Wakka of all people. If it was anyone he was sure it would have been Axel or Demyx.  
"Well thanks guys, I'll go find her," he laughed slightly before taking a short cut to the obstacle course.

When he got there, Riku saw the three of them sitting in the sand, talking normally. He didn't feel the need to be jealous over her spending time with the two ex-Organization members. He knew it was her choice on who she wanted to be with… not his. Riku smiled as he watched Axel poke Demyx in the forehead and then she poked Axel in the stomach with determination. That made him laugh as he made his way down to them.

* * *

I watched Axel rub his stomach where I poked him, pretending that it had hurt.

"Don't be such a baby Axel," Demyx told him with a smile.

"Who's the baby Demyx?" the red head asked as he poked Demyx in the forehead again and knocked him over.

"Come on guys, stop," I laughed before I heard footsteps coming closer.

I turned with a smile, knowing that it would be Riku. He was usually the only other one that came to talk to us when we were underneath the palm trees. I got to my feet when I saw him and ran towards him. Axel's eyes seemed to follow before he helped Demyx sit back up properly.

"Riku," I said with a smile and he pulled me into a protective embrace.

"How was your morning Demi?" he asked me gently, "How is your brother today?"

"My morning's been good," I said pleasantly, "I haven't gone to see him yet. Do you want to come with me later?"

"I'll go if you want me to."

"Don't do that," I told him.

"Do what?"

"I don't want you to do something just because _I _want you to. I want you to do something because _you_ want you to do it."

"Alright, then I want to go with you," he said as he let me go and we walked over to Demyx and Axel.

I had stolen a Paopu fruit the night we had gotten back and held on to it until the morning when we would all meet up on the small island, first thing. They all showed, and if they didn't then I would have hunted them down anyway. I told them that we all had to share the fruit no matter what and they seemed happy enough to go with it, I guess to amuse me. Demyx had gone along with it easily. He didn't care who he shared his destiny with so long as it was someone he really liked. Axel had gone along with it because he was the one who had made the bet with me and he didn't seem to want to complain. Riku had been indecisive for a few moments because he wasn't sure he wanted to spend his destiny with two ex-Organization members. But he assumed that it didn't really matter soon after and ate the piece that he had been given.

As we came to Demyx and Axel, we both sat down beside one another and we all sat in a circle.

"Demi, you're brother's so cute," Demyx claimed since he had overheard us, "I wish I had had one before."

"A little monster is what he is," Axel grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

"You're just mad because he pulled your hair that one time," I laughed lightly.

"He's lucky he's related to you otherwise I would have fried the little turkey," Axel mused as he thought about it.

'_He wouldn't do that. I bet deep down, Axel really enjoys having Nechi around, even if the little guy bugs him a bit.'_ I thought with a small smile. I didn't care if my parents didn't remember who I was anymore, because I still got to spend time with my little brother even if he didn't exactly know who I was. He had asked me who I was once, and I told him that I was his big sister. Nechi told them that and they just shook their heads with small smiles and said no, I wasn't. It didn't matter though. I was home now, and that's all I cared about.

I let out a yawn and tired tears formed at the corner of my eyes. My head fell onto Riku's shoulder and I sat there for a little bit without saying anything. Axel merely cocked an eyebrow.

"You tired?" both him and Riku wondered at the same time.

"No," I whispered, closing my eyes, "Just a little sleepy."

"Isn't that the same thing?" the red head laughed slightly.

"No," I disagreed, "Tired is going to fall asleep right away… sleepy is slowly falling asleep."

Axel and Riku shook their heads with closed eyes and Demyx was the only one who nodded.

"She's right you know," he said with a smile.

"Yay, Demyx agrees with me," I laughed slightly as I forced myself to sit up and rub my eyes.

Riku looked at me, slightly worried.

"Come on, let's go home and put you back to bed," he told me quietly, getting to his feet.

"What? Why?" I asked with a slight whine.

Demyx was wearing off on me.

"You're tired and it's my fault and I'm putting you back to bed," he told me with a small laugh.

"It's both our faults," I corrected him, "we were both up late last night talking."

Axel had had a worried look for a few moments before sighing with some relief. Why, I didn't know.

"I'll drag you home if I have to," he told me seriously, all signs of joking aside.

"Alright," I agreed with a wide grin, "Go for it."

Riku smirked devilishly and grabbed my two feet and started to drag me along the sand with me on my back. I waved to Axel and Demyx with a smile and they both laughed at my position as Riku easily dragged me away from them across the sand. All the while, sand was doing up the back of my shirt and in my ice blue hair.

"We'll come see you later," Demyx laughed with a small wave.

"Okay," I laughed back with a grin.

'_Why is it that this all feels so normal? With Demyx and Axel here… everything should feel different, shouldn't it? It all feels so… natural. Like everything was like this before we all left the island behind and came back. After two years of being away from here, why does it feel like it does?' _We rounded the corner to where the small waterfall was in the water.

"You know Demi, if you don't get up then you're going to get really wet," Riku told me gently as he stopped and stared ahead of us.

Before I could answer, I was scooped up into his arms and he carried me as he walked through the water.

"Now your shoes are all wet," I mumbled as I leaned my head against his chest and closed my eyes.

"My mom doesn't care about wet shoes," he mused, "She cares about wet people who come home and want to fall asleep."

"… I like your mom Riku," I whispered, starting to feel the sleep creeping up on me, "She's really nice."

'_So much for only being sleepy…' _

"I guess not many moms would want their sons sharing the same bed with a girl," he laughed, shaking his head slightly, "She'd have to be really nice for that."

"Better than the floor," I murmured, really starting to fall asleep.

The steady beating of his heart was enough to make me fall asleep.

The next thing that I knew, I was being placed carefully on a bed.

"Riku?" I said, asking for his attention.

"Yes Demi?" he asked, lying down behind me and wrapping his arm around me.

"Why do you seem like you're acting more protective today?" I wondered, not really sure if I should ask.

Things were silent for a few moments and I felt his head rest against the back of my neck.

"Did something happen?"

"Kind of," he whispered, "It wasn't really something… just kind of fell out of the sky, you know?"

'_Not really…but I guess that I kind of get it.' _

"Kairi brought a bottle to Sora that had a letter inside…" he trailed off slightly, not sure on how to say it, "a letter from the King."

My brows furrowed slightly at the mention of the King. Somehow, for some strange odd reason, I didn't like the King, just as I hadn't liked DiZ when he had spoken to me. Somehow Riku knew that I hadn't liked him, though I had never told him because King Mickey had been his friend. _'That's probably why he didn't want to say it…' _

"What did it say?" I asked, trying to make my voice curious.

"It was a request for Sora and I to come see them… He wanted us to start another journey because he had heard rumors about Nobody trouble in a few worlds... a female Nobody with long dark blue hair and red eyes," he murmured into the back of my neck.

I rolled over so I could face him while he talked. I wanted to see his face so that I could understand better.

"Sora's obviously going to go," I said quietly, looking into Riku's gentle eyes, "but what about you?"

"Sora said that he was going to leave tomorrow," he told me quietly, "I had told him that I wasn't going because I couldn't leave you alone again… not so soon."

I looked at him with some surprise before I sighed slightly. _'What do I say? What __**should**__ I say to him? I don't know… I honestly don't know how I could help him…' _

"You don't have to decide that just for my sake," I whispered, looking at the covers of the bed; not being able to look at him.

His warm hand took hold of my cheek and I closed my eyes so he couldn't make me look at him.

"There's no point in me going if I'm just going to worry about you the entire time," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

I cheated and opened my eyes just a crack to see his face. It was sincere and he really seemed to mean what he said.

"You know I can take care of myself…"

"I know you can, but I don't want you to have to," Riku said with a small smile, "And besides, why should I make Axel and Demyx protect something that's not theirs?"

"You're mean sometimes… you know that?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

He laughed lightly.

"You really have to stop hanging around those two so much. You never know… you might end up coming out like Sora," Riku mused, resting his head against the pillow, his silver hair falling down towards it.

"I'm not coming out of anything," I told him plainly, refusing to be like Sora, "I at least have some patience and am strong when I have to be."

Riku's soft eyes looked at me intently as he thought of something.

"Do you remember the time Demyx and you had been attacked by Saïx?" he wondered, thinking about something.

"Of course I remember."

"Well you weren't strong enough to keep Demyx safe, now were you?" he continued quietly – gently – as if trying not to hurt me, "What would you do if someone like Saïx had come to the island while I was gone?"

'_I don't know what I would do… What I could do… I wasn't strong enough then, and I know that I wouldn't be strong enough now. I was barely strong enough to defeat my own Nobody… How would I possibly be able to defeat someone that was as strong as or stronger than Saïx?' _I pondered the thought to myself, looking back down towards the covers of the bed again.

"If you want to prove to me that you're strong… then allow me to protect you," he whispered almost pleadingly.

"Fine," I mumbled, leaning forward and resting my head against his warm chest.

"Have a good sleep Demi," Riku whispered, pulling me tightly against him with both arms wrapped around my back.

"I'll try," I whispered with a yawn, closing my eyes and letting sleep take over me.

As I slept in the protection of Riku's warm embrace, a dream formed through the peaceful slumber. I was standing on the beach of the island, looking out over the ocean as gentle waves came onto the shore. It was night time and the moon was high overhead. The sound of the waves was rather quiet considering that it was the ocean and it surprised me. _'They don't sound right…' _There was something wrong with the sound of the waves… I couldn't put my finger on it.

"What's the matter?" a female voice asked from behind me, "You don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what?" I asked, not turning around.

I was still facing the ocean and since I hadn't turned around, it seemed like I had known this voice – the person – when I actually didn't.

"You don't understand that the darkness still lingers… that I'm still out there," the girl seemed to be rather amused, "That wasn't me you know."

"Who are you?" I asked, turning around to see who it was I was speaking to.

Her face was rather pale and her hair was long and a dark shade of blue that had been pulled up slightly in a slight ponytail; left side pulled back and the right left hanging. Her eyes were red and by her small smirk, she seemed to have small fangs resting there. _'Who is that?' _She looked familiar… the facial features and everything were very similar to someone else I had known.

"You don't know that either?" she asked, even more amused.

"Should I know you?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Her arms crossed over her stomach and she started to laugh.

The moon hung over us as the stars made themselves known, giving us as much light as possible in the dark. I was sure that we could see each other just fine as we were. Then after a few moments of random laughter, she wiped her laughing tears away and shook her head with a slight smirk as she looked away from me.

"I think it's funny that you don't remember who I am. After all, I'm the only other _real _person in the world who's nearly identical," she said, trying to stop her self from bursting out laughing again.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, nearly frustrated now.

She was giving me answers, not the ones I wanted at least. Just more questions that I didn't really seem to need.

"Who do you believe I look like?" she asked, with a cocked eyebrow.

How this strange girl was so amused by this situation, I would never really understand. As far as I was concerned at the time and moment, this girl was a little crazy.

"Just someone familiar… I don't know who…"

"Look deeper… you'll find it. By that time, maybe I'll have taken your precious Riku from you once and for all."

She disappeared from the darkened beach and left me completely puzzled.

"Who are you?!" I called out, demanding an answer.

"Ixdem."

I opened my eyes suddenly and somehow rolled off the bed with shock. Riku had fallen asleep as well, and was dazed when I had escaped his embrace.

"Demi, what are you doing?" he asked me, sitting up slightly and rubbing his head through his silky silver hair.

I couldn't' help it or hide it, but I knew that there was fear written on my face. I could feel it in my heart and in my eyes. My heart was racing, and I couldn't keep fear hidden away. It wasn't much of a skill of mine. Riku had noticed this.

"What happened?" he asked with worry, his eyes clearly showing it.

I panted for a few seconds before I looked at him. _'She looked a lot like me… but why? I don't understand… why did she look a lot like me?' _My eyebrows furrowed at my own confusion before Riku held his arms open to me.

"Riku…" I whispered, still slightly startled.

It was a silly reason to be scared, I knew that much, because nothing scary had happened in the dream… so what had made me so frightened then?

I got off the floor and shook my head slightly before I sat down in front of him. I was again surrounded by his protective embrace and he held me closely to him.

"It's just a bad dream Demi," Riku assured me gently, "Dreams can't hurt you, remember?"

'_Some can in strange ways…' _

"I know," I whispered, "I don't understand what was so scary about it…"

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head as I tried to think about the dream, to make sense of it.

"I was standing on the beach outside at night and a girl with dark blue hair and red eyes appeared behind me… all we did was talk though. All I got from her were more questions…"

'_I don't understand… A dream is just a dream, right? They're not real…' _

"A girl with dark blue hair and red eyes?" Riku wondered thoughtfully.

I nodded my head against him, finding no need to repeat myself.

"You were probably just dreaming about her because we had been talking about it before you fell asleep… I'll hold you here and protect you though, just incase," he said gently as he rested his head against the top of mine.

"Ixdem," I whispered her name as it came to mind.

Riku's eyes narrowed slightly before I felt his head shake from side to side a little as he thought.

"I'll keep that in mind."

**End of Last Chapter**

Hello again everyone! So, how was it? I hope that it was satisfactory for everyone. :D:D _**And**_ if it wasn't then I would like to say that I have some ideas for a sequel, 'cause I was kind of setting the ending up for that. :D It's up to you all, my beloved readers, to make the decision though. If I get four or more requests for one then I will start a sequel for everyone. Can't promise when it would be posted, but there would be one, _**ONLY**_ if I received those four or more requests though. Lol.

So thank you all again for reading and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it at the late hours of the night. It's fun doing that so I'm not complaining. :D:D I really did like writing this story so it's one of my personal favorites and if it's one of yours then I would like it if maybe you might suggest it to some of your friends. :D:D

_Thank you all again everyone!_

_**Thanks from halfdemon-kai. :D:D **_


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